IWC Schaffhausen Launches New Le Petit Prince Collection

Key Highlights

• Eight new Le Petit Prince editions unveiled at Watches and Wonders in April 2026
• First Le Petit Prince models to feature the new forward-and-backward-adjustable Perpetual Calendar ProSet
• First Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Le Petit Prince in white ceramic
• Little Prince appears in the Portofino collection for the first time
• Marks 20 years of IWC Schaffhausen’s collaboration with the descendants of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A Partnership Two Decades in the Making

In 2006, IWC Schaffhausen began a collaboration with the descendants of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that has grown into one of watchmaking’s most meaningful creative partnerships. Over twenty years, it has produced special editions, anniversary pieces, joint museum projects, and charity initiatives organised alongside the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. The shared thread across all of it has been a commitment to the humanist values the author embodied throughout his life.

Saint-Exupéry was a pilot by profession — a pioneer of early mail aviation who crossed the Sahara and the South Atlantic — and a writer and philosopher by vocation. He never separated the two. For him, the cockpit was not a place of escape but of clarity, a vantage point from which the essential things in life became suddenly, startlingly visible. That spirit of purposeful discovery permeates the Le Petit Prince editions IWC has produced in his honour.

The Deep Blue Dial and Its Meaning

The deep blue sunray-finished dial is the signature feature of IWC’s Le Petit Prince special editions, and its choice is far from arbitrary. In Saint-Exupéry’s story, the sky is everywhere — vast, silent, and full of meaning. The Little Prince travels through it to reach distant planets, and it is in the infinite space between the stars that he learns his most enduring truths. IWC’s deep blue dials evoke the same sense of depth and boundlessness, glimpsed through the glass of a cockpit window.

First published in 1943 and since translated into more than 600 languages and dialects, “The Little Prince” remains one of the most widely read novels ever written. Its most celebrated line — “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” — continues to resonate across generations and cultures, lending the Le Petit Prince editions a quiet, universal appeal that transcends any single market or moment.

New Territory: ProSet, White Ceramic, and Portofino

The 2026 collection simultaneously marks IWC’s 90th year of producing Pilot’s Watches and pushes the Le Petit Prince line into genuinely new territory. The most technically significant addition is the Perpetual Calendar ProSet — one of the most significant advances in perpetual calendar design in years, offering both forward and backward date adjustment. It appears in two Le Petit Prince references: Ref. IW339601 in white zirconium oxide ceramic with a blue gradient dial and white rubber strap, and Ref. IW329601 in stainless steel with a deep blue dial, rhodium-plated hands, and a dual-wear option combining a steel bracelet with an additional blue rubber strap. Both are powered by the IWC-manufactured Calibre 82665.

A first Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Le Petit Prince in white ceramic joins the line alongside two Mark XX references — one in 18-carat 5N gold (Ref. IW328301) and one in stainless steel (Ref. IW328221) — and two chronograph options in 43mm and 41mm stainless steel. The 36mm Pilot’s Watch Automatic (Ref. IW458802) rounds out the Pilot’s family with a calfskin strap. All models carry the collection’s signature deep blue sunray-finished dials and gold-plated hands with Super-LumiNova.

The Little Prince Enters the Portofino

Perhaps the most quietly significant move in the 2026 collection is the Portofino Automatic Day & Night 34 Le Petit Prince (Ref. IW459806). For the first time, the Little Prince character ventures beyond the Pilot’s Watches family into IWC’s elegant Portofino line. The 34mm stainless steel case carries a deep blue sunray-finished dial, gold-plated hands with Super-LumiNova, and a blue alligator leather strap from Santoni. The movement is Calibre 35180. As a charming design detail, the Little Prince is depicted standing on the moon of the day and night display, gazing at the night sky — a poetic touch that anchors the character’s sense of wonder firmly within the watch’s complication.

Why It Matters

Twenty years of sustained creative partnership, two landmark horological debuts, and an expansion into a second watch family make the 2026 Le Petit Prince collection one of the more substantive anniversary releases in recent memory. For collectors in the GCC — where the blend of technical ambition and storytelling tradition commands genuine respect — these editions offer something rarer than a limited-number badge: a watch with a shared human narrative encoded into every detail, from dial colour to case-back engraving. See the full official collection at IWC Schaffhausen.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IWC Le Petit Prince collection launched in 2026?

It is a new set of special editions unveiled at Watches and Wonders in April 2026, marking 20 years of IWC Schaffhausen's collaboration with the descendants of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The collection spans Pilot's Watches, the new Perpetual Calendar ProSet, and, for the first time, the Portofino family.

What is the Perpetual Calendar ProSet featured in the Le Petit Prince collection?

The Perpetual Calendar ProSet is described as one of the most significant advances in perpetual calendar design in years, offering forward-and-backward date adjustment. In the Le Petit Prince collection it appears in two references: one in white zirconium oxide ceramic (Ref. IW339601) and one in stainless steel (Ref. IW329601), both powered by IWC-manufactured Calibre 82665.

What makes the Portofino Le Petit Prince edition unique?

The Portofino Automatic Day & Night 34 Le Petit Prince (Ref. IW459806) marks the first time the Little Prince character has appeared in the Portofino collection. As a charming detail, the Little Prince is depicted standing on the moon of the watch's day and night display, gazing at the night sky.

Is there a white ceramic model in the 2026 Le Petit Prince collection?

The press release describes a first Pilot's Watch Chronograph Le Petit Prince crafted in white ceramic as part of the 2026 collection, though specific reference details for that variant were highlighted in the collection overview rather than the individual model list.

When did IWC Schaffhausen begin its Le Petit Prince collaboration?

IWC Schaffhausen began its collaboration with the descendants of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 2006. The 2026 collection marks the 20th anniversary of that partnership, coinciding with IWC's 90th year of producing Pilot's Watches.