We’ve seen lots of IWC collaboration watches with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team – ranging from special editions for their drivers like George Russell, to the team principal Toto Wolff and the team itself. Something they all have in common is their trackside focus with black dials and high contrast teal or blue accents. However, for the new IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, that formula has changed. We’ve been hands-on to learn more.
Out of the box, the first thing you can’t fail to notice is the purple dial. It’s the first time that IWC has used this colour in the Pilot’s Watch range and it really pops. It’s inspired by the national flower of Singapore, the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid, making this watch in effect the team edition for the Singapore Grand Prix. Why Singapore? It’s one of the most atmospheric and evocative races of the year taking place at night on the Marina Bay Street Circuit – set to take place in early October. The colour is a really intense, royal purple tone and up close you can admire the fine sunray brushed finishing across the main dial plate and circular engraving (also known as snailing) on the chronograph subdials.
The purple colour is paired with the normal teal lumed hands and hour markers from the previous Mercedes-AMG Petronas special editions. I have mixed feelings about that colour combination because it does feel a bit jarring, but also I don’t know what colour would be better. There is a limited pool of colours that complement purple and IWC can’t take the same route H. Moser did on the Sun Berry where they removed all the dial markings, because on a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph the markings tend to be important.
I actually think what pulls the look of the watch together is the fact that Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ other partner Adidas have also produced a Singapore GP kit in similar colours. Within the context of the whole ensemble, the pairing of the purple with the teal does work. You can only see that outfit in IWC’s press images rather than our own photography.
Strapping the watch on with its purple rubber strap, it sits very comfortably on the wrist. It measures 41mm in diameter which is appropriate for a tool watch like this and has a thickness of 14.5mm. That thickness does make it fairly tall but again, that’s not unexpected given the natural bulk of chronograph movements. The size is also offset by the titanium construction that makes it very lightweight, especially in combination with the rubber strap.
It’s also no surprise given how long IWC have been producing chronographs that the pushers have a nice action and the chronograph hand responds immediately. The movement powering the chrono is the calibre 69385 automatic with 46-hour power reserve. It’s a column wheel chronograph movement with functions for central chronograph seconds, a 30-minute timer at 12 o’clock, a 12-hour timer at 9 o’clock and running seconds at 6. There’s also a day-date display at 3 o’clock, useful for pilots travelling across the world repeatedly and losing track of the days. You can see the movement through the exhibition caseback which has a commemorative Mercedes inscription on it.
At time of writing the price hasn’t been announced but I don’t see a reason for it to be different to the previous Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG edition in titanium, as it’s essentially an alternative colour scheme of that watch. That would make it £7,000. This is certainly one of the most out there colour combinations IWC has experimented with in recent history, so the question is, will collectors resonate with this daring combination?
Price and Specs:
More details at IWC.
