The Ultra-Complex IWC Watch that you Probably Won’t Be Able To Get

About a week ago, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division released its most advanced, crazily complex, powerful hypercar ever. We’ve often heard of the concept of “race car for the road” or brands applying F1 technology to sports cars. That concept has never been pushed as far as the new Mercedes-AMG One, which is powered by almost the same engine as Lewis’ F1 car, the hybrid 1.6-litre turbo V6 used in the 2016 Mercedes F1 W07… And the car will be built in the UK, in the same facilities as current MB F1 cars. So, when it comes to car-watch pairing and aware of the partnership between IWC and AMG, which watch can you possibly offer to the owners of this USD 2 million car? You certainly cannot go for a simple time-only. So, you create the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition AMG One Owners IW590502. 

In short, this Mercedes-AMG One is probably the most advanced and most F1-derived road car ever imagined. The engine… straight out of an actual Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car (the 2016 W07), using the same hybrid technology, and barely toned down. The result is a combined power of 1,060hp, an internal combustion engine revving at 11,000rpm, four electric motors, Formula One-style MGU-K and MGU-H technology, and the need to entirely refurbish the engine after 50,000km… And if the chassis and bodywork are entirely custom-built for this car, everything is related to what’s used in F1 cars. Yes, the thing is wild and probably one of the last of its kind before electricity changes the game.

With these specifications in mind, what kind of watch could you offer with this car? As we mentioned, a simple time-only automatic watch, even though custom-designed, wouldn’t do the job. You need something exclusive. But you also need an engine to match. IWC has found the answer in this new watch that will be exclusively available to Mercedes-AMG ONE owners (275 examples of the car will be made, certainly a bit less when it comes to the watch). And inside, there’s the Schaffhausen-based brand’s most advanced movement, the Constant Force Tourbillon.

The watch itself isn’t entirely new, as we’ve seen both the design and the movement in previous IWC models, such as the Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition IWC Racing. The movement was also used in the Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition 150 Years. This new reference IW590502 is basically the same as the IWC racing, with new materials and new colours.

The 46.2mm case is based on the classic BP design, with its oversized diamond-shaped crown and large dial opening. What’s new is the titanium aluminide (TiAl) material. Lighter and harder than conventional titanium, highly resistant to corrosion, and biocompatible, this high-tech material belongs to the group of intermetallic compounds. Due to the specific mixing ratio of titanium and aluminium, atoms and electrons arrange themselves in a particular way. This causes the material to have certain non-metallic properties in addition to the classic properties of a metal. In the case of TiAl, its high-temperature resistance stands out. For this reason, the material is used for the turbine blades of modern jet engines, where lightness and temperature resistance are essential requirements. Its specific properties also make it the ideal choice for components of high-performance engines in motorsport. The downside is that this material is particularly difficult to machine. It’s finished with polished and sandblasted surfaces combined with a titanium screw-in crown and Ceratanium caseback ring. A thin ring in AMG-Petronas green marks the transition between the polished and sandblasted parts of the case.

The black dial of the Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition AMG One Owners IW590502 is classic to the collection, with oversized luminous hands and applied markers. It features a dual-moon for northern and southern hemispheres, a power reserve indicator and light green AMG-Petronas accents. The highlight is, of course, the massive tourbillon regulator and its constant-force device at 9 o’clock.

The in-house calibre 94800, a sizeable hand-wound engine, is regulated by this specific device that compensates for two major issues of mechanical movements: the effect of gravity on the regulating organ and the diminishing torque in the mainspring as it unwinds. The one-minute tourbillon is enclosed in a constant-force device that disengages the escapement from the direct flow of power through the wheel train and transmits even energy impulses to the escape wheel.

The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Constant Force Tourbillon Edition AMG One Owners IW590502 is worn on a new integrated, two-tone rubber strap using a so-called multi-component injection moulding process. Offered in black and green, it features Mercedes stars in Petronas green. This IW590502 will be available exclusively to the future owners of the Mercedes-AMG One. Price isn’t disclosed but expect around EUR 250,000, which is about 10% of the price of the car…

For more details, please visit www.iwc.com.