Boris
988
Recovery era, perhaps?
The Big Pilot 43 is the best thing they've come up with in years. I am really impressed with this model.
I couldn't stand what Kern was doing in terms of bringing almost the entire line > 42mm, the over-reliance on brand ambassadors at the expense of a drop in execution standard (compare a 3706 dial / hand to its 3717 successor, for instance), the gaudy designs running contrary to the brand's understated DNA (e.g. Ingenieur Zinedine Zidane).
And the fact that he is a cynical marketeer (cf. his speech at the 2011 World Minds in Zurich) with an enormously high opinion of himself.
Best model of the dreaded Kern era at IWC
At least in my book. I came very close to buying it, in the silver / cream dial and gold hands and indices. I was very impressed how slender the watch was, and how nicely it wore on my wrist.
Recovery era, perhaps?
The Big Pilot 43 is the best thing they've come up with in years. I am really impressed with this model. I couldn't stand what Kern was doing in terms of bringing almost the entire line > 42mm, the over-reliance on brand ambassadors at the expense of a dr...
I don't see it that way...
If anything, the current direction is worse. Everything you mentioned about what Kern did is happening tenfold. Brand ambassadors, alliance with MB F1, awful BP iterations (especially Lewis Hamilton editions), etc. "In-house" movements that are designed b...
You're a better authority than me on this
If you say that matters have further degraded with Kern's successor, I take your word for it. I guess I just found the transition from Bluemlein to Kern brutal, with a loss of substance along the way. Now, granted, everyone cannot be Guenter Bluemlein. An...
Love the crown guards
This to my eyes was one of the most beautiful Ingenieur made, certainly more wearable than the 7d or the ones with inhouse on my small wrist.