5 minutes with: Craig Wing, Citizen Kanebridge Ambassador
From NRL star to discreet dealmaker, this former dual international has traded stadium lights for Sydney’s most exclusive properties — bringing the same discipline, focus, and drive to every off-market transaction.
3 min
Can you share your background & journey?
Well, I suppose most people remember me from my days playing rugby league for the Roosters, Rabbitohs, and NSW.
I was fortunate enough to become a dual international after moving to Japan to play rugby union, and I thrived under the pressure that came with competing at the highest level of sport.
These days, the game has changed, but the fundamentals of how I apply myself remain the same. I now navigate Sydney’s most exclusive property markets—the CBD, Eastern Suburbs, and Lower North Shore. I work behind the scenes to secure some of the city’s most coveted homes. Given the nature of my client base, my work also extends into commercial property. While the mechanics differ, the same principles of access and discretion apply.
You started investing in property as a teenager. How has your approach evolved?
As a young athlete, I was encouraged to invest early, and property seemed like a safe bet. My first purchase was a terrace in Paddington in the late ’90s when I was 19. I focused on blue-chip assets from the start.
Over time, my portfolio grew, and I experimented with some speculative property investments, which led to tough but invaluable lessons.
Rather than walking away, I refined my approach and developed a deep passion for property. Now, I guide and invest based on first-hand experience, focusing on long-term value to ensure that decisions are grounded in fundamentals rather than fleeting trends.
As someone who has spent years in the media spotlight, how do you ensure discretion for your clients?
I’ve experienced the discomfort of having personal affairs turned into headlines. Many of my clients are high-profile individuals who prioritise discretion just as much as I do.
For me, privacy isn’t just a promise—it’s a discipline. I carefully control the flow of information, work only with trusted professionals, and secure most deals off-market to ensure confidentiality.
Some of the biggest transactions I’ve facilitated have gone entirely unnoticed because that’s how my clients prefer it. While some suggest I should publicise my work more, I build my business on trust and referrals from those who appreciate true discretion.
What do you focus on when helping your clients find the right property?
The first step is understanding why my clients are buying—whether they’re upsizing, downsizing, or investing—and defining their non-negotiables. Some prioritise privacy, others want ocean views or proximity to top schools. When multiple decision-makers are involved, aligning expectations early is key.
I also encourage long-term thinking. Will this property suit them in five or ten years? Is it a stepping stone or a legacy asset? For downsizers, is it truly future-proof?
Beyond finding the right property, I ensure it stacks up— analysing zoning control, other development, and potential risks. If needed, I bring in architects, planners, builders, or legal experts to provide a complete picture before any decisions are made.
My network provides access to off-market opportunities that most buyers will never hear about. It is a world built on discretion, relationships, and knowing what’s coming before the market does.
At this level, time is as valuable as money. My clients are high-performing individuals who can’t afford inefficiencies, so I manage every aspect of the process—from sourcing and inspections to negotiations—so they can make confident decisions without distraction.
What are some of the perks of working in the ultra-prestige property space?
One of the biggest perks is working with incredible properties—waterfront estates, architectural masterpieces, and homes most people only see in magazines. Equally rewarding is collaborating with top professionals in sales, development, design, and finance, and gaining insight into how they solve problems. Their experiences sharpen my own and ensure the best outcomes for clients.
What is most fulfilling, though, is working with self-made, highly successful individuals whose drive and discipline remind me of elite athletes.
It is a privilege to help them make one of their most significant financial decisions—securing a dream home or a strategic investment. It’s about aligning every decision with their vision and long-term goals.
What are you most looking forward to in 2025?
I’m really looking forward to our annual family trip to the Basque Coast in France to visit the in-laws. My daughter is four, my son is one and a half, and I’m amazed that my daughter is now completely fluent in French. I can’t wait to see her fully immersed in the language and culture for a few weeks. Plus, nothing beats the batter and good food, family time, and a European beach summer!
Mirzaian is a senior director within CBRE’s Development NSW business, operating across the company’s Western Sydney and North Sydney offices
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. …
Continue reading “IWC’s purple Formula 1 chronograph pays tribute to Singapore after dark”
4 minSingapore’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
From snow-dusted valleys to festival-filled autumns, Bhutan reveals itself as a rare destination where culture, nature and spirituality unfold year-round.
A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.
