IWC Schaffhausen Launches The “Lewis Hamilton” Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition

IWC Schaffhausen launched the “Lewis Hamilton” Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition, honoring the British legendary six-time Formula One champion.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen

Hamilton collaborated with IWC Schaffhausen’s designers in creating the timepiece. The special design, of which there are only to 100 watches available, combines a black ceramic case and a Bordeaux-red dial with a crown and a case-back ring made of 18-carat 5N gold. The watch has a diameter of 46.5 millimeters. The textile strap is also colored in Bordeaux-red.

 Photo Credit: Courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen

“This partnership with IWC was incredibly exciting for me, and it’s been an honor to collaborate so closely with the watchmakers in Schaffhausen,” said Hamilton. “Together, we’ve designed a beautiful timepiece which combines two things I am really passionate about – craftsmanship and design – and I am so pleased with the result.”

“Lewis approached us with the idea of a watch in Bordeaux-red and gold,” explained Christian Knoop, Creative Director of IWC Schaffhausen. “Our starting point was the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar – a favorite model of Hamilton’s, who is also an acknowledged expert in Haute Horlogerie. We decided on a case made of black ceramic with hints of gold and a Bordeaux-red dial and textile strap. This combination radiates understated luxury.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen

The IWC 52615 manufacture caliber ensures that the watch rate is accurate. Its Pellaton winding system, fitted with components made from zirconium oxide ceramic, builds up a power reserve of seven days in two barrels. The perpetual calendar, made of about 80 components, displays the date, day, month and year to four figures, as well as showing the lunar phase. The mechanical program autonomously recognizes that different months are different lengths, and adds a leap day every four years at the end of February. The double moon phase display simultaneously shows the lunar phase in the northern and southern hemispheres and will only deviate from the moon’s actual orbit by a single day after 577.5 years. All displays are perfectly synchronized and can be easily adjusted via the crown if the watch is not worn for a prolonged period.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen