IWC first began producing Pilot's watches in the 1930s, but they really became a major part of the brand's lineup with the Mark X, produced for the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. While IWC only produced 6,000 of these watches, it provided the foundations for the more famous Mark XI, which began production in 1949 and was sold until 1981. This classic design gave life to the modern Pilot's collection, where these chronographs sit. These designs revolve around highly legible dials, mounted onto solid cases housing a modular chronograph movement. Though they were only introduced in the 1990s, long after mechanical chronographs ceased to be a navigational tool, they were very much built with practicality in mind.