I've had my eye on both of these for awhile...

[projectologist]

And having finally gotten to try both on, it was an easy decision which to buy. This will be my first gen IWC purchase. I should have it on my wrist tomorrow

As to which one I decided on, here's a hint... I love the Flieger-style case design (as used by Stowa, Laco, A. Lange & Söhne and IWC), and one of these 2 is closer to that look than the other. Not my pic but wanted to show a direct comparison of the 2 Pilots.

[projectologist]

At first I was really leaning towards the Pilot on the left, but something always bugged me about the 3717's dial. I finally realized it's graphically unbalanced. In-person compared to the 3777's dial, the 3717's looks busier by far (why you can't rely solely on pic comparos). Plus I've always loved the Spitfire's trip date window. And the 3777's case set is truer to the original Flieger-style shape, especially the thinner bezel which is also one-piece with the case.

Here's a diagram I did (yeah I know, too much time on my hands) showing how the graphic elements of the 3777's dial line up. Every part is anchored visually and in balance relative to each other. The same can not be said for the 3717's dial. After doing this the 3717's dial looks very un-balanced to me.

Doesn't get any better than this... gotta see one in-person and on your wrist to know what I mean.

[Watchmeister]

Congrats. You can't go wrong with either. Looking forward to seeing it on your wrist.

[dluddy]

Good choice R

I've always preferred the Spitfire dial

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