News · IWC Schaffhausen

IWC turns its Formula One team chronograph purple

The fourth Mercedes-AMG Petronas team watch keeps IWC's titanium 41mm case and calibre 69385, then commits fully to a purple dial and strap.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 28 August 2026

• A purple dial and matching rubber strap distinguish the fourth IWC watch made for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
• The 41mm Grade 5 titanium case contains IWC's automatic calibre 69385, a column-wheel chronograph with a 46-hour power reserve.
• Reference IW388121 is listed in Australia at A$14,300 including VAT and is not presented as a numbered limited edition.

IWC has given its fourth Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team watch a purple dial and matching rubber strap. The new Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 is still the titanium, day-date chronograph the partnership has used before, but the colour changes its character completely. It was unveiled ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, where saturated artificial light and the night-race setting make the choice feel deliberate rather than decorative. This is team kit that does not try to disappear.

Purple is doing a particular job

The dial is the first purple one in IWC's Pilot's Watch collection. PETRONAS green marks the hands, Arabic numerals and hour markers, while the luminous coating is confined to the hands. The day and date share the three o'clock position, while chronograph minutes sit at 12 and running seconds at six. It remains a busy instrument dial, just one with a much less conventional uniform.

The colour also gives this release a clear reason to exist beside the earlier team editions. IWC has not presented a new case architecture or movement, and it does not need to pretend otherwise. The point is a strong, event-specific visual identity for a watch that already has a known technical base. For collectors who found the previous Formula One pieces too restrained, the purple version answers that objection directly. For everyone else, it is a very easy watch to rule in or out.

Titanium keeps the colour credible

The 41mm case is made from Grade 5 titanium, with the subdued grey tone and low weight that suit a modern sports chronograph. Pushers flank the crown, and the familiar Pilot's case shape leaves most of the visual work to the dial and strap. A purple rubber strap attaches through IWC's EasX-CHANGE system, so owners can swap it without tools. The colour match is close enough to make the watch read as one object, rather than a conventional chronograph on a novelty strap.

That matters because bright dials can become harder to read when every surface competes. Here, the PETRONAS-green hands, numerals, indices and dial indications impose a useful hierarchy. The central chronograph seconds hand is obvious, the elapsed minutes remain separate at 12, and the day-date display is compact. IWC has kept the basic information architecture intact, which is the sensible choice. Purple supplies the spectacle; the existing layout still has to do the work.

The 69385 remains visible

Inside is IWC's automatic calibre 69385, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a stated 46-hour power reserve. It controls the chronograph through a vertical arrangement of subdials and adds the paired day-date display. The movement can be seen through the sapphire display back, where the openworked rotor and bridges offer a mechanical counterpoint to the emphatic front. IWC is not claiming a new calibre here, but the architecture is appropriately purposeful for a watch tied to motorsport.

The display back also keeps the team association on the watch without crowding the dial. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team wording appears around the back, while the front is left to IWC's own Pilot's Watch language. That division is more convincing than applying several logos to the face. It lets the partnership register when the watch is handled, but it does not turn every glance at the time into an advertisement.

A team watch with a sharper point of view

IWC has been an official engineering partner of the Formula One team since 2013, and this is the fourth dedicated team watch. That history makes the release less like a one-off colour exercise and more like the latest uniform in a continuing programme. I think the strongest choice is the refusal to soften the purple. A timid tint would have left the watch sitting too close to ordinary blue or black pilot's chronographs. This version knows exactly what it is.

There is still a practical decision for buyers. A 41mm automatic chronograph with prominent pushers and a full-colour rubber strap will not behave like a quiet everyday watch, even in light titanium. The benefit is that the design communicates its connection immediately, without requiring an engraved caseback explanation. It is a Formula One team piece first and a neutral Pilot's Watch second. That order will be the appeal for its intended audience.

IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team pricing and availability

The IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team carries reference IW388121. IWC lists it in Australia at A$14,300 including VAT, supplied on the purple rubber EasX-CHANGE strap. The watch is part of IWC's current Pilot's Watch range rather than a numbered limited edition. Australian availability and purchase enquiries are handled through IWC's own site and boutiques.