Review: IWC Mark XVII - Le Petit Prince - MK Factory

[kennycoder 97]

Hello IWC lovers.. and welcome to the mini review of the new "the little prince" model. There are plenty of threads on other forums about this rep and it's versions so I'll try to sum it up and give my opinion.

 

First thing is the production factory. Apparently there two factories that do the dial/caseback. The MK and SW. As far as I know, MK released two revisions of their dial. The first one (that I have) has slight sunburst effect, slightly misplaced "7" and "5" numbers on the dial and more purple-ish dial color (depends on the lighting tho. The second iteration has proper blue color and correct placing of 7/5 number but has no sunburst effect anymore.

SW version from what I've seen is not very easy to source plus it has a mate dial (as MK v2) and incorrectly placed numerals too. So to sum it up

 

MK v1: somehow correct sunburst, more purple-ish color, slightly misplaced "5" and "7".

MK v2: no sunburst, correct color, correct "5" and "7" placing

SW: no sunburst, so-so color, slightly misplaced "5" and "7".

 

 

Datewheel placement is a gamble. Can be misaligned to the left or can be spot-on. Pay attention @ QC and ask for double digit date to check.

 

Crown, case and crystal are simply gorgeous. Very well done. AR is a perfect match. I went to AD to check on a normal Mark XVII and couldn't see any difference in terms of color/hue/reflection.

 

Caseback is another story... MK factory fucked it up a big time. For some reason the prince got some orc-style nose. SW got it better.

 

 

The bracelet is solid. Rep leather strap too (got it as an extra). A bit plastic-ish but overall feels good. Asian movement has a nice feel to it too. Date changes at midnight spot on. Mine runs +5s/d. I also liked the touch with the warranty cards. One is a rep card imitating IWC and another one is actually from the MK factory. Plastic bags were branded and had a IWC QC plastic wrap. Very nice.

 

Aaand now the pics:

 

 

Edited August 31, 2015 by kennycoder

[Seand83 0]

Thanks for the share. Very nice work.

[kennycoder 97]

Thanks for the share. Very nice work.

 

Welcome and thanks Hopefully this will be useful to someone.

[kennycoder 97]

Btw, the sunburst effect looks like this:

[Marshall 0]

The sunburst looks really nice! Just a shame they lost it somewhere along the way

[Sakurai 1]

Well done, thanks a lot for the run through!

Love the sunburst dial on the MK1, is this version by chance still possible to source from our TD's? The other two versions don't stand a chance vs the MK1 in my view.

[kennycoder 97]

Well done, thanks a lot for the run through!

Love the sunburst dial on the MK1, is this version by chance still possible to source from our TD's? The other two versions don't stand a chance vs the MK1 in my view.

 

Not sure if possible to source it anymore. I hope they make a proper version with correct spacing / color / sunburst effect.

[Dr. Jimmy 29]

Nice write-up N. Was thinking of getting one of these but, a: not sure I need another Mark XVII, b: I want the sunburst dial. Lets hope they come out with a corrected version.

[ryaku 4]

Thanks buddy, very helpful review.

[mujidominic 0]

I've noticed that one of the edges on star-shaped counterweight on the second hand is a bit too round when compared to internet pictures on the gen.

 

Not sure if this is an issue, I've checked quite a few dealer's photos and cant conclude if its due to camera angle or if it's really misshaped, can someone please confirm?

[grumpyguy 0]

Is the sunburst effect present on the IWC gens of this model? Some IWC gens appear to have it (judging from images I've seen on the web) but others (again, judging from web images) appear to be like the MK2. Does anyone know which is "correct"?

[MDK 7]

Mine Says Hello

 

[grumpyguy 0]

Lovely watch. And it looks like it doesn't have the sunburst. Am I correct?

[MDK 7]

Lovely watch. And it looks like it doesn't have the sunburst. Am I correct?

 

 

No this one doesn't, this is a V6F factory with i believe SW parts, looking at this post , not sure though.

[MDK 7]

Kenny sell me your bracelet