Formula 1 and watches have a long and storied history. Just look at our cover star this issue. But whereas many a watchmaker sponsors a team, it’s a rare breed that pulls out all the stops sponsoring a fictional team.
Still, when that team is APXGP, the stars of adrenaline-pumpingly authentic, big-budget movie F1, the whole picture starts to come into focus a little – even more so when the watchmaker in question is IWC. After all, IWC know their way around a pit lane sponsorship. They’ve been the timing partner of Mercedes-AMG since 2004. By racing standards, they’re F1 veterans and the chance to get watches on the wrists of Brad Pitt and Damson Idris is too good an opportunity to pass up.
That’s why, as we discussed with IWC creative director, Christian Knoop, they decided to go above and beyond simply supplying some watches to the movie. “We had the opportunity to partner with the F1 movie and in the first instance we were happy to supply watches to the entire cast,” explains Knoop. “But at one point we realised that this is a fictional team, a team with their own style and personality. We saw this as a great opportunity to do something new and thought, ok, let’s create a capsule collection.”
Film tie-in watches aren’t incredibly new, though they’re not particularly common. A character wearing a built-for-the-film watch would be like them wearing a T-shirt with the movie poster on it. But when we’re talking about racing overalls littered with sponsors (including IWC, of course), it actually makes a lot of sense. But any capsule collection needs a starting point, and for Knoop, he decided to start bang in the middle.
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph APXGP IW378009
“We took this black, white and gold colour code and applied it to watches at different price points. We started with the Pilots Performance Chronograph in gold and black ceramic, worn by Idris’s Joshua Pearce in the movie. Around this design we built two more chronographs in stainless steel and two very high-end, technical talking pieces, a perpetual calendar chronograph, and a skeleton tourbillon piece with a shock absorber. These really represent IWC’s expertise in performance engineering.”
Personally, I like the approach. You start with the middle ground and go both directions from there. Obviously when the middle ground is a solid rose gold chronograph, there’s a lot of ground you could cover, but either way it’s nice to see insane pieces like the shock absorber breathing the same air as a classic steel chrono.
So, what was it like working on a movie collaboration instead of with a racing team? Apparently much the same, bar for one thing. “It was like working with a real F1 team when it came to branding. We needed to follow very specific guidelines to make sure it not only fit the APXGP aesthetic, but felt authentic to Formula 1. Obviously, we have experience of that already with Mercedes AMG, working with people like Lewis Hamilton.
“The main difference is in the drivers. With our real-life drivers, a lot of the creativity in the branded watches come from them and we work very closely with them on the limited editions. That was less the case here where the actors have too many other things to focus on.”
Speaking of the actors, we’ve already mentioned what Damson Idris’ Joshua Pearce is wearing, namely the gold-cased Pilots’ Watch Performance Chronograph 41, but what about the others? Well, Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes takes a different approach entirely with a vintage-styled Ingenieur, with a dial in the character’s signature green and gold-trimmed white indexes. It’s fitting that a guy who’s been out of the game is the only one with a non-chrono, and one that originates from a very different era at that.
Of the lot though, I found myself gravitating towards the simpler steel chronographs, the 41mm in particular. There’s something about that combination of steel, black and gold that I find appealing in the same way as a classic car. It’s timeless and as understated as an IWC pilot’s chronograph can be. It helps that they’re by far the most subtle of the lot. But what about Knoop? It’s hard to choose your favourite child (I’ve heard), but does one stand out for him?
“I can never really answer that. Not because I don’t want to, but because my favourite is always one that I’m currently working on and therefore won’t be out for another two years. I’m not very sentimental and I don’t really look back, so my favourite IWC watch is always in the future.” And whether it’s another film or another podium, there’s a lot of F1 in IWC’s future.
More details at IWC.
