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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3 min
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