The first-ever official team watch for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team was unveiled at the inaugural Miami F1 Grand Prix, which took place in Florida on May 6-8. The timepiece is a fruit of the longstanding collaboration between IWC Schaffhausen and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
They say sports watches are the quintessential tool for performance, more so for car racing teams. It seems that people at IWC Schaffhausen know that, as they created a beautiful wristwatch for the Formula One team.
Swiss watchmaking company IWC Schaffhausen has been a sponsor and engineering partner for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Team since 2013. The partnership spanned eight Formula One Constructors' Championships, but this is the first official watch they develop for the team.
The timepiece, dutifully named the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team” is a stamp of the Swiss company’s commitment to sustainability. It’s an automatic, self-winding watch with a titanium body in greyish shimmer.
It’s made from lightweight and rigid grade-5 titanium, which is known to offer great strength-to-density ratio and to be highly resistant to corrosion. Actually, titanium is an incredibly durable and long-lasting metal and it is also used in automotive engineering in manufacturing car parts, such as engine valves.
Photo: Mercedes
The watch has an exclusive design, featuring a black dial with green luminescence and see-through sapphire glass back.
In terms of measurements, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team” comes with a 41.0 mm diameter and 14.5 mm height. Strap width is 20.0 mm.
The watch features a screw-in crown to provide water protection. Actually, it comes with 10 BAR water resistance, which makes it suitable even for swimming or snorkeling.
The IWC-manufactured 69385 caliber is the technology that powers the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.” This is a chronograph movement in classic column-wheel design, consisting of 231 individual parts. The wearer can see this movement through the sapphire glass back.
The wearer will be able to enjoy a power reserve of 46 hours, thanks to the bi-directional pawl winding system on the watch.
Photo: IWC
Color options for the straps include black and the team’s signature Petronas green. The black one is an embossed calfskin strap, while the green one is a rubber strap, both providing the owner comfort and ergonomics. The straps can be easily swapped without using any tools through the company's EasX-CHANGE system.
The choice of material and color further solidifies the link between the chronograph and the team it’s been created for.
With plenty of experience in luxury watchmaking, IWC Schaffhausen values precision engineering and harmoniously combines the worlds of watches and racing cars into one stylish watch.
“Both fine watchmaking and racing are all about precision, craftsmanship and performance engineering. But it's the human factor - the passion the love and the dedication that make all the difference between good and great,” Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, has stated.
To mark the launch of the Pilot’s watch, the two Mercedes team cars boasted the IWC logo on the halo of the W13 race car during the Miami race earlier this month.
The chronograph is to be worn by all members of the Formula One team, from pilots to designers, race engineers, aerodynamicists, strategists and mechanics. You too can wear one as the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team” is already available for sale as an online exclusive. It is priced at $7,850.
The Swiss watchmaker offers a standard 2-year international warranty for its products, but you can register on their website to become a member of the IWC and get a 6-year extension to the standard warranty.
After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors. Full profile
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