IWC Unveil Pilot’s Watch George Russell Collection in Ceramic

We’re a couple of months out from the start of the new season of Formula 1 but the anticipation is already starting to build. New car liveries are being revealed (the Haas actually looks great this year) and the social media content is already flowing. After a solid performance last year that saw him come in 5^th, Mercedes are pinning their hopes once again on George Russell – check out our interview with him from 2024. In honour of his renewed title challenge this year, IWC have launched the Pilot’s Watch George Russell collection with Automatic 41 and Chronograph 41 models.

On first impressions, they bear a striking similarity to the existing Mercedes-AMG Petronas model. The Automatic 41 in particular shares the same dial layout and case design, albeit slightly larger at 41mm. However, look at the new watches side by side with the old and several differences quickly emerge. The most apparent of these is the fact that both the Auto and Chrono have cases made from black ceramic rather than titanium.

Paired with the black, aviation inspired dials, it makes for a much more unified appearance. The total number of colours present on the watch have been cut from three to two as the silver of the titanium disappears leaving only the black and blue. That blue is the second, more subtle difference between the George Russell and Mercedes editions. Where the Mercedes is a slightly green teal, the George Russell is a pure blue, the same shade used on his helmet and racing gloves.

It’s a really nice tone that’s just a touch darker than sky blue while still being firmly at the lighter end of the range. I actually really like it across the rubber strap on both models. It works well on the dial too, featuring on the Arabic numerals, hands, date and chronograph subdials. The chronograph also feels great to use, the pushers are light without being accidentally pressable and the responsiveness is great as the seconds jumps into action immediately and hops back to attention on reset faster than the eye can see.

Both of the watches feature commemorative casebacks with George’s 63 racing number engraved in the centre. They’re also limited to 1,063 pieces each for the same thematic reason. Behind the casebacks are different movements due to their differing complications. The Chronograph uses the 69380 with 46-hour power reserve while the Automatic uses 32112 with 120-hour power reserve. It really feels like a trade-off worth considering because while the chrono has more utility in its functions, the automatic is more convenient to wear as it needs resetting less often.

For pricing, the Chronograph 41 George Russell is £10,100 while the Automatic 41 George Russell is £7,300. That makes them identically priced to their standard, non-limited ceramic counterparts. That’s super nice because paying for exclusivity never feels great and since they’re limited above 1,000 anyway, they’re not the most exclusive models to ever be produced anyway. If you like the initial Mercedes pilot’s watch models but want them in ceramic rather titanium and blue rather than teal, you’ve hit the jackpot.

More details at IWC.