IWC has come back down to earth and has its foot to the floor. Having recently returned from unveiling its Top Gun range in Geneva, the brand is now headed for Miami, where it will join Mercedes-AMG Petronas to reveal the product of their collaboration – the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team.”
A Longstanding Partnership
At first glance it might seem paradoxical for a F1 racing team to have developed a pilot’s watch. But for IWC it was an appropriate choice, because the manufacture doesn’t have a motor racing line, and because the demands of an aircraft pilot are substantially similar to those of a racing driver. Probably the main difference is that aviators are allowed to wear theirs when they fly, whereas F1 drivers are forbidden to walk on the track with a watch.
As far as everything else is concerned, IWC is eminently capable of meeting the demands of F1 – from the cars themselves to the discipline of their drivers. The manufacture can rely on the experience it already has with F1 – IWC Schaffhausen has been the Official Engineering Partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One stable since 2013. And yet IWC had never before embarked on a development project like this one, which makes it a first for this long-term partnership. Up to now, IWC’s watches have been associated with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, not F1.
So IWC is moving to a new category. The watch will be worn by the stable’s designers, aerodynamics experts, race engineers, strategists and mechanics. Looking at its impressive achievements, the 900-strong team is clearly a force to be reckoned with: eight Formula One World Constructors’ Championship titles between 2014 and 2021. No other stable has won so many consecutive titles in the discipline that represents the pinnacle of motor sport.
Shared History
Although Motorsport and Formula One are two completely different partnerships, the requirements and demands are largely similar. So, you will recognise the stable’s iconic green livery. The movement that drives the watch is one of IWC’s most popular – the 69385, which equips or has equipped no fewer than 41 references, including the most recent Top Gun series (e.g. Mojave Desert and Woodland), unveiled just three months ago in Geneva. This broad user base goes some way to explaining why the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One will be on the more affordable side of the spectrum of watches equipped with the 69385 calibre, at EUR 8,300 (only the Spitfire, at EUR 7,200 comes in lower, the majority of the others appearing in the 8,000-11,000 euro range). The 69835 movement is based on the 69370, which in turn is based on the ETA 7750, of which it retains all the technical specifications (28,800 vph, 33 jewels, 46-hour power reserve).
The chronograph is shipped with two straps: one in black waffle calfskin, and the other in green rubber. Thanks to the EasX-Change system the straps can be easily swapped out with one press, no tools required.
