It’s a story I’ve told a hundred times at this point: when Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari at the end of the last F1 season, one of the biggest questions was who will become the new poster boy for IWC’s Mercedes collaborations. The answer so far is not George Russell. However, he has taken things into his own hands by commissioning a custom version of the new IWC Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic with a blue dial inspired by his Mercedes-AMG Petronas helmet.
Russell has showcased his new personal timepiece in a series of photographs, credited to himself, posing around the Mercedes-AMG ONE hyper car. The watch itself was designed by him as well in collaboration with Bamford Watch Department, a British brand known for their celebrity watch customisations. It’s actually a little ironic that their work here has been to add a blue dial to a black watch as they made their name blacking out virtually every watch they can (or adding their own signature blue which is different to this one).
It’s actually a little sad that Russell’s IWC Ingenieur Ceramic with Mercedes-AMG Petronas style dial is a bespoke creation because it’s cool to see the collection sporting a more colourful design. So far, the Ingenieur is quite a serious collection full of traditional colours like blue, black, white, with the most daring option being an admittedly unusual mid-tone green. A vibrant turquoise makes for quite the spectacle by comparison, especially with the contrast of the ceramic 42mm case.
The customisation is purely aesthetic, and the watch retains its 82210 automatic calibre with Pellaton winding system and 60-hour power reserve. As a bespoke project there are no official plans for an IWC release like this, though if it proves popular with collectors I don’t see why there can’t be an Ingenieur Mercedes-AMG Petronas edition in future. In a similar vein to the initially exclusive Tudor Inter Miami spawning an entire colourful chronograph collection.
Price and Specs:
Model:
IWC
Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic
Ref:
IW338903
Case:
42mm
diameter x 11.6mm thickness, black ceramic case
Dial:
Blue
with ‘Grid’ structure
Water resistance:
100m
(10 bar)
Movement:
IWC
calibre 82110, automatic, 22 jewels
Frequency:
28,800
vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve:
60h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds, date
Strap:
Black
ceramic bracelet with butterfly clasp
Price:
Unique
piece, not for sale
More details at IWC.
Oracle Time