The chronograph and perpetual calendar are dedicated to IWC racing partner, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport…
The latest IWC pieces are the watchmaking equivalents of the combined metaphor. As part of the Big Pilot range of the famed Swiss brand, they were created as limited edition aviators, and are dedicated to the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team, which is the creator of Formula One cars and a six-time world champion, supported by IWC since 2013.
Like most watch brands that support car sports, IWC emphasizes the similarities between auto racing and luxury watchmaking. "Both watchmaking and moto sports rely on high-tech materials, world-class engineering, ultimate performance and constant innovation," according to the famous brand's website.
Their special editions are housed in matte black ceramic cases, carrying carbon dials - as you can tell, these materials adorn the premium Mercedes-AMG F1 models.
Both clocks - the chronograph and the perpetual calendar - contain intriguing accents of emerald green, evoking the team colors of Petronas. Pilot's Watch Chronograph Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport” is equipped with an IWC 89361 mechanism, which displays stop hours and minutes on a sub-dial positioned in the field for 12 hours, with a flyback function. As for the aesthetics, the 44.5mm diameter casing is quite traditional - Petronas green on the dial for seconds at the 6 o'clock position, embellished with black leather strap seams.
Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition "Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport" model is significantly more vibrant: with a diameter of 46.5 mm, this model contains hands, Arabic numerals, markers and transcriptions created in emerald green Petronas color. Its layout is based on the legendary perpetual calendar module, developed by Kurt Klaus for the IWC in 1985, by the watchmaker.
The chronograph ($ 15,600) and the perpetual calendar ($ 38,000) are limited to 50 and 10 pieces, respectively, and can be purchased at IWC boutiques worldwide.
