Swiss watchmaker IWC and F1 star Lewis Hamilton have made big moves in 2013 by both teaming up with the Mercedes AMG Pertronas F1 team. Hamilton debuted on their team this year after leaving McLaren and IWC became their official engineering partner. Their first big event together kicked off today for a pop-up exhibition at Selfridges in London. This event showcases IWC’s 2013 Ingenieuer Collection, which features a lineup inspired by Formula 1 and high-tech materials found in their racecars like titanium, ceramic and carbon fiber. The event also showcases Hamilton and his F1 team, leading up to the British Grand Prix set for the end of the month. This gives visitors a first hand look at the new collection and the first UK appearance of the new Ingenieuer Constant-Force Tourbillon. And for a bit of F1 fun, you can book a turn in a full-size Mercedes AMG Pertronas F1 simulator.
Click on any image below to open the fullsize gallery:
The Ingenieuer was first launched in 1955 and was credited with the first bi-directional automatic movement. As the name translates, it was originally designed for engineers with a soft iron applied to protect it from magnetic fields. In the 70s it was redesigned to the style you still see today by Gerald Genta, the legendary watch designer who designed the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. This year they have re-focused the collection towards F1 racing to match their new partnership. Besides chronograph functions, F1 materials including titanium, ceramic and carbon fiber have been used, along with some limited editions.
Limited editions include the AMG Black Series Ceramic, which sports a clean, all-black look with a 46mm case made of ceramic and zirconium oxide, to give a unique mix of gloss and matte finishes. A limited variation of this is the Carbon Performance Edition, which features a full Carbon fiber case and dial. A vintage-styled limited edition offered in the Silberpfeil Chronograph, which has either brown or silver-toned dials with a perlage polish, which is a throwback to dashboards of classic racecars. A cool complication they’re offering is the Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month. It has a 46mm titanium case with a partially skeletonized dial, which features a chronograph and perpetual calendar with a digital-style display for the date/month. They offer a new Chronograph Racer in a 45mm stainless steel, with two subdials, tachymeter, flyback and date display at 6 o’clock. And their crowning piece is their Constant-Force Tourbillon with its patented constant-force mechanism that’s integrated in the tourbillon for ultra-precise power and balance. The dial shows off the tourbillon, 96-hour power reserve display and a special double perpetual moon display (it has moon phases for the north and south hemisphere, along with a moonphase countdown). The 46mm case is made of a unique mix of ceramic and platinum.
Please browse our collection of IWC Watches.
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And make sure to check out this awesome video from IWC:
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