It seems like a long time ago when IWC introduced the Shock Absorber XPL, originally appearing at the digital Watches & Wonders event in 2021, during the unusual period when public events were few and far between. We’re thankful that’s not the case today, and IWC has something special in store for us at Watches & Wonders this year – and it’s not yet another Ingenieur. Swiftly following behind the Toto Wolff special edition, they’ve taken their SPRING-g PROTECT system in the XPL and adapted it to safely house a delicate tourbillon movement, creating the perfect replica IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL watches.
Creating the most futuristic-looking best fak IWC watches for a while, the brand houses a skeletonised dial and movement inside the XPL case, suspended by shock absorbers made from a specially engineered material called Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG) – designed to evenly spread shock forces across its length and width. The resulting design of the XPL has protected tourbillon movements to survive shocks in excess of 10,000g during testing.
The case itself is just as futuristic as it looks, crafted from IWC’s proprietary alloy Ceratanium. This in-house-developed material combines all of the advantages of titanium: being lightweight and almost unbreakable, and similarly hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. At 44mm wide, it can’t be considered a small watch, but it’s an IWC, so you should expect nothing less. However, these dimensions are made up of irregular shapes like the bumpers on the sides of the case, and with the complex inner workings on show, it does make the high quality copy watches wear a slightly more regular size. The sapphire crystals front and back, along with the screw-down Ceratanium crown, help to provide the watch with a 100-metre water resistance.
Reading the time has just become a slightly trickier job with the new Tourbillon Skeleton XPL, and that’s an unusual thing to say about an IWC, given their consistency with dial legibility. It’s ok, though, because as you look at the online replica watches, you’re greeted by the inner workings behind a transparent dial full of details. The minute track is printed on a textured ring, circling the dial and terminating at the tourbillon sitting proudly at 6 o’clock. The IWC logo floats on a transparent disc in front of the mainspring barrel, and the skeletonised bridges are carefully finished and treated to a black coating.
Front and centre, there are a pair of skeletonised sword hands, which, despite being coated in (grey) lume, makes them almost seem lost at a glance. Perhaps this was intentional – I’m not sure, but I can’t help thinking that a brighter selection would have at least kept some legibility present. The funky shock absorber system stays in full view, this time in a more subdued beige colour, as opposed to the bright turquoise of the Toto Wolff edition and more like the original model. Legibility issues aside, the dial area is still a joy to look at, and that’s the main thing about cheap super clone watches like this, right?
The main functions of the movement are typical IWC, executed brilliantly and finished to a high standard. The 82915 movement is self-winding thanks to an oscillating rotor, visible through the skeletonised bridges even from the front of the shop fake watches. It counts 24 jewels and beats at 4Hz, and accuracy is taken care of by the flying tourbillon. The oversized mainspring barrel will keep the watch beating for a full 80 hours, giving the XPL an impressive spec sheet.
Another remarkable aspect of the Swiss made replica watches are that because the movement is suspended separately from the case in the shock absorber system, IWC had to devise a smart way to couple the crown stem to the movement to allow it to move around in the event of an impact. A unique crown coupling system allows the movement to move freely inside the case when the coupling disengages.
The luxury replica watches are secured on the wrist by a comfortable, rubberised strap with a textured surface finish and secured by a Ceratanium pin buckle. It matches the watch well and doesn’t take too much attention away from the futuristic-looking watch itself.
The 1:1 wholesale fake IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL’s name may be long, but there’s good reason for it: it’s a complicated watch in more ways than one. It’s great to see a tourbillon in what is effectively a sports watch, but often, they just get fitted to a watch that can’t put up with a beating. It’s clear that IWC’s efforts to make the XPL a genuinely shock-proof watch have succeeded. The case construction has been meticulously thought out, adapted and tested for use with the tourbillon, and there’s something quite extraordinary about how futuristic it looks, which is so unusual for an IWC.
