IWC’s purple Formula 1 chronograph pays tribute to Singapore after dark
4 min
Singapore’s Formula 1 weekend has always looked different.
Held beneath floodlights on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the race transforms the city into a nocturnal spectacle of speed, heat and saturated colour. It is this distinctive atmosphere — and one of Singapore’s most important natural symbols — that has shaped IWC Schaffhausen’s latest motorsport-inspired watch.
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Edition introduces a deep purple dial to IWC’s Pilot’s Watches collection for the first time.
Rather than drawing directly from the race cars, the colour references the Vanda Miss Joaquim, the orchid recognised as Singapore’s national flower. Its vivid purple is paired with numerals, hour markers and luminous hands in the turquoise-green shade closely associated with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.
A matching purple rubber strap completes what is easily the most colourful team watch IWC has produced during its long-running Formula 1 partnership.
A team watch made for the paddock
IWC has been the official engineering partner of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team since 2013, with dedicated team watches forming part of the relationship since 2022.
These editions are intended to be worn by mechanics, engineers and other team personnel trackside, as well as staff at the team’s headquarters in Brackley, England. That working role helps explain why the watches tend to prioritise low weight, durability and legibility rather than simply adding Formula 1 branding to an existing luxury timepiece.
For the new reference, IW388121, IWC has selected a 41mm case made from Grade 5 titanium. The metal is approximately half the weight of steel, resistant to corrosion and valued for its strength-to-weight ratio.
Its connection with motorsport is functional as well as thematic. Titanium alloys are used in Formula 1 components subjected to considerable mechanical and thermal loads. Most visibly, the protective Halo structure positioned above a driver’s cockpit is also manufactured from a high-strength titanium alloy.
IWC has given the case a brushed finish, retaining titanium’s understated grey appearance and allowing the purple dial and green details to carry the visual impact.
At 14.5mm thick, this is still a substantial sports chronograph. The reduced weight of the titanium case should, however, make it noticeably easier to wear over a full day than an equivalent steel model.
Familiar engineering beneath a new dial
Behind the colour is a familiar and proven mechanical package.
The watch is powered by IWC’s automatic 69385 calibre, an in-house chronograph movement built around a traditional column wheel. It operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides a 46-hour power reserve.
Its chronograph layout places the elapsed-minute display at 12 o’clock and running seconds at six. The vertical arrangement has been a defining feature of IWC’s Pilot’s Watch chronographs for decades, keeping the displays clear despite the amount of information presented on the dial.
A combined day-and-date window sits at three o’clock, giving the watch additional everyday usefulness beyond its stopwatch function.
The movement is decorated with Geneva stripes and circular graining and can be viewed through the sapphire crystal caseback. Water resistance is rated to 10 bar, equivalent to approximately 100 metres.
The front is protected by convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides. IWC also secures the glass against displacement caused by sudden changes in air pressure, a feature associated with the collection’s aviation origins.
The purple rubber strap is fitted with IWC’s EasX-CHANGE system, allowing it to be removed without conventional tools. A titanium pin buckle maintains the lightweight construction.
The fourth Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team watch
The purple chronograph is the fourth official team watch produced through the partnership.
The series began at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix with a titanium Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 distinguished by PETRONAS-green details. A more performance-focused Ceratanium chronograph followed at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, complete with a black ceramic tachymeter bezel.
In 2025, IWC changed direction with the slimmer, three-hand Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Edition.
The new Singapore-inspired chronograph returns to the original 41mm format but gives it an unexpectedly expressive identity. It also arrives alongside a new Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS collection from team kit supplier adidas, extending the purple colour story beyond the watch.
For collectors, the appeal lies in that balance. The architecture of the watch is recognisably IWC: practical, engineered and highly legible. The dial, meanwhile, is considerably more adventurous than the black, blue and green treatments typically associated with modern pilot’s watches.
It is a tribute to Singapore that avoids obvious images of the skyline or circuit. Instead, IWC has used colour to capture some of the energy of Formula 1’s original night race — and created one of the partnership’s most distinctive watches in the process.
Fact box
- Model: IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
- Reference: IW388121
- Case: Grade 5 titanium
- Diameter: 41mm
- Thickness: 14.5mm
- Dial: Purple with PETRONAS-green numerals, markers and luminous details
- Crystal: Convex sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Movement: IWC-manufactured automatic calibre 69385
- Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph and day-date display
- Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4Hz
- Power reserve: 46 hours
- Jewels: 33
- Water resistance: 10 bar, approximately 100 metres
- Strap: Purple rubber with EasX-CHANGE system
- Buckle: Titanium pin buckle
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2 min
Australia trails Singapore and Malta in a new Commonwealth index, while national testing shows fewer than four in 10 Year 10 students meet the standard for digital literacy.
Australia has ranked third among 56 Commonwealth countries for youth AI readiness, with researchers estimating that artificial intelligence could lift the level of Australian GDP by $80.6 billion after a decade under their middle scenario.
The Ayre Think Tank released the index at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. Australia scored 71 out of 100, behind Singapore on 77.6 and Malta on 75. The United Kingdom followed closely on 70.8, with Canada fifth on 70.2. Only 15 countries reached the study’s benchmark of 53.
What the $80.6 billion figure measures
The researchers applied International Monetary Fund estimates for broad groups of economies to Australia’s 2025 GDP. The resulting scenarios put the potential lift in Australian GDP after 10 years at between $40.9 billion and $120.3 billion, with $80.6 billion representing the midpoint.
The figures describe how much larger the economy could be at the end of the period under each scenario. They represent a change in the level of GDP in year 10.
Digital literacy falls as schools roll out AI tools
Australia scored 8.7 out of 10 for access to technology and 7.5 for digital, data, media and AI capability. Separate national testing found that 37 per cent of Year 10 students met the proficient standard for information and communications technology literacy in 2025, down from 46 per cent in 2022. About one in 10 students reported receiving substantial teaching on AI-related tasks. National assessment results
The report points to two state initiatives aimed at building those skills. Queensland began rolling out an AI education platform in state schools in 2026, while Victoria introduced free specialist training for workers looking to develop AI skills or move into related roles.
The index draws on 1,128 sources and examines the conditions facing people aged 15 to 29, including access to technology, education and pathways into work. Australia had usable data for 76 of the 102 indicators used in the rankings. The researchers found too little comparable evidence to score an eighth area covering critical judgement and people’s ability to exercise control over AI systems.
Professor C. Justin Robinson, campus principal of the University of the West Indies’ Five Islands Campus, said young people should be equipped to question and improve AI tools and supported in building alternatives suited to their needs.
The report calls for affordable access to technology, more practical education and stronger links between training, employment and entrepreneurship. It also urges governments and educators to support AI tools suited to local languages and give young people ways to challenge automated decisions.
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