Last week, IWC Schaffhausen celebrated its long-standing partnerships with Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Grand Prix winner George Russell attending the event in Las Vegas.
The accompanying release of the Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG strengthens ties with the German sports car brand based in Affalterbach. The alliance, which began in 2004, expresses their shared dedication to performance, design and engineering excellence.
This is further reinforced by the new model, whose case, crown and pushers are expertly crafted from titanium.
IWC actually introduced the use of the robust yet lightweight material for the case and bracelet of a chronograph launched in 1980.
Challenges included machining the rigid material. The Swiss watchmaker acquired the know-how by liaising with experts from the French aviation and aerospace company Aérospatial.
Offering the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal, titanium is also frequently used in automotive engineering to manufacture components for high-performance engines.
The grade 5 titanium used for the Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG is around 45% lighter than steel while its anti-allergic property makes it skin-friendly.
Titanium Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG.
The new performance chronograph matched with a black rubber strap.
The titanium case pairs with a black ceramic bezel, whose tachymeter scale enables measuring average speed based on distance travelled. The black lacquer dial with a glossy finish, recessed totalisers, applied indices and numerals filled with Super-LumiNova complement the sleek design.
The new model is driven by the IWC-manufactured 69385 calibre equipped with a bi-directional pawl winding system that builds up a power reserve of 46 hours.
The Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG can be worn with a titanium bracelet or black rubber strap.
The two new versions follow last year's launch of the Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team housed in a Ceratanium case.
This series of watches boasts IWC's expertise in using advanced materials. Ceratanium offers the lightness and structural integrity of titanium along with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to ceramic.
Since 2013, IWC has been the official engineering partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team based across technology centres at Brackley and Brixworth in the UK.
The Ceratanium performance chronograph is sported by designers, aerodynamicists, race engineers, mechanics and other members of the team.
IWC-manufactured 69385 calibre.
