IWC Schaffhausen is giving its Formula One team watch a new identity for Singapore. Ahead of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, the Swiss watchmaker introduces the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, Ref. IW388121, marking the fourth official team watch created through the partnership.
WATCHES
The defining detail is immediately visible. For the first time in IWC’s Pilot’s collection, the dial arrives in a deep purple tone. Rather than pulling directly from motorsport graphics, IWC takes inspiration from Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore’s national flower. The orchid, bred in 1893 by Armenian-Singaporean horticulturist Agnes Joaquim, provides the color reference for the dial and matching rubber strap.
The purple treatment gives the chronograph a distinctly different character from earlier Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS editions. The team’s signature green remains present across the numerals and indices, while the hands use the same green shade as a luminescent coating. Against the saturated dial, the contrast feels immediate and ties the watch back to the visual identity of the Formula One team.
The case measures 41mm and is crafted from Grade 5 titanium, a material closely linked to high-performance engineering. Titanium is valued in Formula One for its strength-to-density ratio, resistance to heat and low weight. It is used in several racing applications, including engine components and the Halo safety structure. IWC gives the case a brushed finish, leaving the metal with a restrained silvery-grey surface.
Inside, the watch is powered by the IWC-manufactured 69385 caliber, an automatic mechanical chronograph built around a column-wheel architecture. It runs at 4 Hz and offers a 46-hour power reserve. Chronograph minutes are displayed at 12 o’clock, while the combined day-date indication sits at 3 o’clock. A transparent sapphire case back reveals the movement, finished with Geneva stripes and circular graining.
The new model continues a team-watch series that began at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix with a titanium Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41. In 2023, IWC followed with the Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 in Ceratanium for Las Vegas, while 2025 brought the slimmer three-hand Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.
The Singapore edition returns to the chronograph format with a much stronger focus on color.
Like its predecessors, the watch will be worn by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team members trackside, including mechanics and engineers, as well as staff based at the team’s headquarters in Brackley, England. Its launch also coincides with a new adidas collection created for the team.
For Singapore, IWC avoids the usual visual shorthand of racing watches and builds the concept around the city itself. The result is one of the most distinctive Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS editions to date, with purple bringing an unexpected update to the technical language of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41.
wow! the mechanical chronograph behind this design is just spotless. sorry but this is mindblowing, IWC Schaffhausen is the king for a reason – and HERE IS THE REASON!