IWC - The discreet partner of F1
"I see myself as an engineer. I love details and the sum of many small and beautiful details and precise mechanics. This goes for racecars as well as watches. It´s all about superb technology, which is truly fundamental," Aldo Costa, the engineering director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team told me in Monaco before the textbook victory of Nico Rosberg.
On his wrist he wore an IWC Ingenieur. Ingenieur for engineer, if you like. And the reason behind this homological choice is the relationship between Mercedes AMG Petronas and Swiss watch manufacturer IWC.
The partnership with the famed F1 team was revealed during the SIHH watch fair in January 2013, but the ties between the two brands actually goes back to 2004, when IWC launched a titanium Ingenieur marking the brand's relationship with AMG. Besides having three letters in their logotype, the two companies did not apparently have much in common other than an impressive mechanical engine.
Not in your face
The 2013 partnership between IWC and Mercedes AMG Petronas actually makes a lot more sense than one might initially think, as a lot more engineering goes into a Formula 1 car than a tuned road car. However, do not expect IWC to plaster the F1 cars nor drivers' suits with their logo.
"We don't want to be 'in your face' with this relationship," Benelux and Scandinavian general manager Robert Pennatz tells me. "We would rather invite people on a journey into the brand. We would rather have consumers research IWC once they become aware of its partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team."
With everybody carrying a Smartphone with a decent camera, anybody can be a paparazzi and if any of the thousands of F1 fanatics that visit the annual 18-20 races around the world passes the Mercedes AMG Petronas garage, they will see most of the busy and highly skilled staff wearing an IWC Ingenieur on their wrist. Doutbless a few pictures of these wrists will be shot and shared within seconds on various social media. And hey presto, an emotional connection is made between a winning F1 team and a luxurious Swiss watch manufacturer.
Watches and engines
Wearing a watch while working on an F1 engine worth millions is not a common sight, least of all a luxury watch. However the IWC Ingenieur is not only a luxurious watch but also a sturdy timepiece that was originally made to withstand magnetic fields such as can be found in engines. Such was the original thinking when the first IWC Ingenieur was launched in the 1950s and later redesigned by the legendary Gerald Genta in 1976. Genta's design is indeed the design upon which the current Ingenieur family is based.
Grounded pilots
Both this year's Monaco Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg and his fast team mate Lewis Hamilton are signed as IWC ambassadors and we'll undoubtedly see them wear different watches from the Schaffhausen manufacturer, including a Big Pilot model. The two racing drivers are after all themselves 'pilots', viewing the world in front of them from the confines of a specially small cockpit.
However Lewis Hamilton told me that he would love to see IWC launch a watch made of carbon. Guess what, Mr. Hamilton? We have great news for you. Such a watch already exists: the Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance ref. 322401 and 322402. They may be boutique only versions, but undoubtedly IWC will be able to help the new ambassador out.
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