While at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2023, Lewis Hamilton caught the eye of F1 photographer and YouTuber as he flaunted an IWC Schaffhausen watch on his wrist, but with the wrong date and time. Kym Illman recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel where he ranked 10 of the best watches he saw in the paddock in 2023, and the $175,000 worth watch made no. 7 on the list.
The official name of the watch is the IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton and is only one of 44 watches ever made. It features Hamilton’s logo on the front dial. It has a 43½ mm face set up on a 16 mm dial. The watch has 12 diamonds, each of which represents an hour. The watch also has a retrograde date display and a stopwatch for timing laps. The back reads what number (out of 44) the watch is.
Explaining the reason behind the time and date being wrong on Hamilton’s display, Illman speculated that it could be because the Briton did not wear it to the venue. He suspects it could be so because the watch was with a PR person, and as Hamilton reached the media pen, they had him wear the watch without winding or setting.
Illman further claimed it was a common practice by the F1 drivers to please their team’s sponsors. Given that IWC is one of Mercedes’ premier sponsors, it only makes sense for Hamilton to do all he can to ensure the sponsors stay happy and continue funding the team.
Not the only collaboration between Lewis Hamilton and IWC Schaffhausen
Hamilton stands as a revolutionary figure in the world of F1 owing largely to his off-track exploits, especially in the world of fashion. The Mercedes driver is a fashion monger and even brought a significant change in the F1 paddock with his bold fashion choices. Owing to the same, Hamilton caught IWC Schaffhausen’s eye, and the two engaged in a couple of projects before their latest venture.
One of the watches was an IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar with a retail price of $75,000. Only 100 pieces of the watch were made. It has a ceramic case with a diameter of 46.5 mm with a 7-day power reserve and features 54 jewels within the dial.
The other was an IWC Black Lives Matter Ceratanium watch. Given it is a one-off watch, it is difficult to determine the exact value of the watch, although experts suggest it could go upwards of a million dollars if put up for auction. The watch has the same specs as any other IWC Big Pilot but features a blacked-out and minimalistic dial.
