There is no shortage of ways to make a watch specific to a place. IWC has chosen one of the simplest for Singapore: change the parts of an existing design that create the strongest first impression.

The Singapore edition Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team Ref. IW388121 builds on IWC’s established team-watch architecture, this time with a purple dial and matching purple rubber strap. Against both, the familiar Petronas-green numerals and markings are kept intact, while the grey titanium case remains as a neutral frame around the whole composition. 

In 2022, for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, IWC introduced the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team” Ref. IW388108, the first official team watch created during its partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas. IWC has been the team’s official engineering partner since 2013, and this was conceived as a watch for the people behind the cars as much as for those driving them – a team that, at the time, comprised more than 900 professionals, such as mechanics and design engineers.

Visually, IW388108 established what has since become a particularly recognizable IWC formula. Its sandblasted titanium case had the muted grey appearance of an engineering material rather than the brighter sheen of conventional steel, while the black dial was decorated with numerals, markings and luminous details in Petronas green. A year later, IWC returned for the second Miami Grand Prix, testing how adaptable that formula could be. Ref. IW388114 arrived on a rubber strap in “Miami Pink” – a color linked to the city’s lifestyle and Ocean Drive.

Ref. IW388108 and Ref. IW388114

This year, for the Singapore Grand Prix, IWC – working in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Adidas – takes that idea one step further, bringing purple onto the dial of the Singapore edition Ref. IW388121. Looking past the purple, however, everything traces directly back to the watch introduced four years ago: the 41mm titanium case, the movement inside, the three-register chronograph arrangement, flashes of Petronas green and the day-date display at three o’clock.

The color treatment takes inspiration from Singapore’s Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid, the country’s national flower since 1981. Created by Agnes Joaquim in 1893, it was Singapore’s first orchid hybrid, and its bright colors, resilience and year-round bloom have long been associated with the Singapore spirit.

Inside the watch is IWC-manufactured calibre 69385, an automatic chronograph movement built around a traditional column-wheel architecture with 46 hours of power reserve. Visible through the sapphire-glass caseback, it is finished with circular graining, or perlage, and Côtes de Genève. Like the previous models, the purple rubber strap fitted on the watch incorporates IWC’s tool-free EasX-Change system.

In less than two months’ time, the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix will take place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit as Singapore’s first Formula One Sprint weekend. By then, under the floodlights, against a grid already saturated with team colors, the purple dial will gleam as a response to the city around it. 

Tech Specs: IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team Ref. IW388121

Movement: IWC-manufactured calibre 69385 automatic chronograph; 46-hour power reserve

Functions: Hours, minutes, day and date

Case: 41mm titanium case; 14.5mm height; 51.8mm lug-to-lug; sapphire-glass caseback; 10-bar water resistance

Dial: Purple with black hands; Petronas-green numerals and markings

Strap: 20/18mm purple rubber with EasX-Change system and pin buckle titanium clasp