IWC takes inspiration from the tremendous G forces of Formula One with its newest rift on the Big Pilot’s watch.
Formula One is a sport that demands everything from the drivers and their teams. In their narrow cockpit, drivers are constantly being exposed to high centrifugal forces when accelerating, braking or cornering. And you’re right – it sounds like the kind of place a spot of shock absorption might come in handy.
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Inspired by the team the company has worked with for a number of years, IWC has created the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, a timepiece that’s as beautiful as its name is long.
Limited to 100 pieces, the new timepiece combines the Swiss watch manufacturer’s SPRIN-g PROTECT shock absorber system with a technical design inspired by the team’s colours and its spirited CEO Toto Wolff, who avid followers of F1 might have spotted sporting a prototype of the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL.
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In case you were wondering, the watch’s shock absorber spring is manufactured from a bulk metallic glass and coated with PETRONAS green Super-LumiNova, meaning that not only does it roll with the punches but it glows in the dark.
IWC’s patented SPRIN-g PROTECT shock absorber system was developed by the watch company’s engineering division, XPL, and was first introduced with the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL (Ref. IW357201) back in 2021. Taking movement shock protection to the next level, it is based on a cantilever spring that cushions the movement inside the case, absorbing the high g-forces drivers are subjected to on the track.
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In addition, the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team timepiece features a case and crown made of Ceratanium, an advanced material developed by IWC that combines the lightness and robustness of titanium with a hardness similar to ceramic.
The black dial features a grainy technical structure, which is stamped into the brass base with a special tool, while the newly designed triangular black hands feature Super-LumiNova coated edges. The outer ring, with its minute scale, appears to be floating freely on lamellae attached around the dial.
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The watch is powered by the IWC-manufactured 32101 calibre, visible through the tinted sapphire case back, with a double pawl automatic winding system and a power reserve of 120 hours, or approximately 60 races.
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