IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer that was founded by American watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones in 1868. Originally known as the International Watch Company, the company was transferred to the Rauschenbach family in 1880. Since 2000, IWC has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group which also owns other high end brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Roger Dubuis, Panerai, Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier, and A. Lange & Söhne. IWC is generally best known for their aviation/pilot watches.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
The partnership between IWC Schaffhausen and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team started in 2013 when the team fielded Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. A small but notable detail of the partnership does not involve a physical watch at all, but simply an image of an IWC Big Pilot printed on the drivers’ fireproof gloves. Limited edition Ingenieur Chronographs were made for both Hamilton (IW379602) and Rosberg (ref. IW379603) in 2014 with design input from each driver. A one-of-a-kind IWC Ingenieur Automatic Edition Tribute to Nico Rosberg was also made for the Only Watch 2015 charity auction.
IWC would go on to create several more Lewis Hamilton edition models, culminating in the Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton (Ref. IW394008) that was released in 2023 with a limited run of just 44. The first official team watch from IWC’s partnership with Mercedes was Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team” (ref. IW388108), unveiled at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. This was followed later in the same year by the Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team with a rubber strap (ref. IW388306) or Ceratanium bracelet (ref. IW388307), IWC’s first true motorsport chronograph. The 2023 Miami Grand Prix saw the release of a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 with a “Miami Pink” rubber strap (ref. IW388114).
Valentino Rossi Becomes an IWC Ambassador
Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi began serving as an IWC ambassador in 2022. The Italian joined Lewis Hamilton in a Signature Talk titled “Being a Pilot” at that year’s Watches and Wonders event. Rossi has also donated his personal IWC Big Pilot’s Watch in Ceratanium to the 2022 Laureus Charity Night in Zurich, Switzerland.
References
https://monochrome-watches.com/lewis-hamilton-vs-nico-rosberg-iwc-ingenieur-chronograph-limited-editions/
https://www.iwc.com/en/company/partnerships/petronas-formula-one-team.html
https://press.iwc.com/iwc-schaffhausen-and-the-mercedes-amg-petronas-formula-one-team-continue-their-journey-as-partners-en/
https://www.timeandwatches.com/2022/05/iwc-pilots-watch-chronograph-41-edition.html
https://timeandtidewatches.com/hands-on-the-new-iwc-pilots-watch-chronograph-41-edition-mercedes-amg-petronas-formula-onetm-team/
https://monochrome-watches.com/introducing-iwc-pilots-watch-chronograph-41-mercedes-amg-petronas-miami-pink-edition-iw388114-specs-price/
https://monochrome-watches.com/iwc-ingenieur-chronograph-tribute-to-nico-rosberg-2016-f1-world-champion/
https://monochrome-watches.com/iwc-big-pilots-watch-perpetual-calendar-lewis-hamilton-iw503002/
https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/partners/iwc-schaffhausen
https://taustralia.com.au/valentino-rossi/
https://press.iwc.com/iwc-signature-talk-being-a-pilot-with-lewis-hamilton-and-valentino-rossi/
https://press.iwc.com/iwc-and-valentino-rossi-present-a-special-big-pilots-watch-auction-at-the-upcoming-laureus-charity-night-en/
https://luxexpose.com/valentino-rossi-donates-his-iwc-big-pilots-watch-in-ceratanium/