Watch your car files: Hamilton and Rosberg get personal IWC Ingenieur chronographs

By Alvin Uy
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September 30,2014

The re­newal of its current partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team is extended for another three years as the team’s Official Engineering Partner. With the extension, IWC has now effectively extended its commitment until the end of the 2018 F1 season. “We and the racing team’s technicians are linked by a common passion for outstanding engineering, skilled craftsmanship and innovation,” says Georges Kern. “And with the team’s drivers we share a desire to deliver ultimate precision and unmatched performance.”  Since 2004, IWC Schaffhausen has been a partner of AMG, the performance brand of Mercedes-Benz.

The unveiling happened just before the start of their first practice sessions at an IWC event in Singapore. “Lewis and Nico are not only unique personalities and incredibly successful sportsmen but also very creative. They were both immediately very interested in the idea of launching two limited special edition watches. I’m confident that these unusual timepieces will be equally popular with motorsport enthusiasts and watch connoisseurs,” explains Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. As this year’s top two Formula One drivers, Rosberg and Hamilton are currently fighting for championship points with only 3 points apart after Rosberg’s Formula One racecar stalled and was not able to finish the race.

IWC Schaffhausen developed these two special edition watches bearing their names with each limited to 250 pieces. Both drivers share a common passion for mechanical timepieces aside from their professional exploits, and as brand ambassadors of IWC Schaffhausen, it was natural that they also both got involved in the design of their own watches.

When Lewis Hamilton visited IWC’s workshop a year ago, he said he was particularly impressed by the expertise and pioneering approach of the company’s watchmakers.  “With its carbon dial, push-buttons, crown, crown protection and zirconium oxide screw heads, this watch directly reflects the high-tech materials used in Formula One.”  Said Hamilton. The racing driver prefers metal bracelets and chose titanium for his model. This is the only watch in the entire IWC collection with a titanium bracelet.

As a teenager, Rosberg received an IWC watch as a gift from his father and which created a bond between him and the luxury watch manufacturer. He was known to have swapped his racesuit for a watchmaker’s overalls at an event in Munich last year and signed up as a participant on an exclu­sive watchmaking course. “For me, IWC watches epitomize not only complex technology and unmatched performance but also passion and emotions,” he said. “These were also the elements that I wanted my watch to embody. I was certain that the combination of my favorite material, titanium, with the black strap and the bright dial would create a striking contrast.”

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