Some pairings are timeless: thunder and lightning, salt and pepper, or in this case, wristwatches and roaring engines. This summer, the silver screen will ignite with the high-octane release of a new Formula 1 film, and IWC—ever the maestro of merging tool-watch grit with pop-culture flair—has crafted a trio of chronographs that straddle the line between pit-stop pragmatism and Hollywood sparkle.
The crown jewel of the lineup is the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph APXGP in 18-carat 5N gold, a timepiece that winks at luxury without shouting it. Its matte black ceramic bezel acts like a tuxedo’s satin lapel—understated yet undeniably refined. At 41mm, it’s neither a wallflower nor a wrist-bound boulder, but rather that Goldilocks sweet spot IWC nails so well. The sapphire caseback reveals the ticking heart of the 69385 calibre, a movement as reliable as a pit crew’s choreography.
Two stainless steel siblings join it: a 43mm bruiser and a sleeker 41mm variant. Both flaunt dials as crisp as a racetrack’s finish line, with white-and-gold accents popping against the noir backdrop. Their rubber straps, engraved with the fictional APXGP team’s insignia, feel like a secret handshake for gearheads in the know.
This isn’t just a watch—it’s a plot device. To fully embrace it, you’ll need either a fervent love for F1’s cinematic alter ego or a soft spot for IWC’s playful world-building. The gold version? That’s for the maverick who wears their ambition like a checkered flag. The steel models? Think of them as the everyman’s ticket to the grid, priced at $6,800 and $7,000—considerably less than a set of racing slicks.
In the end, IWC hasn’t reinvented the chronograph. But like a perfectly executed overtake, it’s the nuance that thrills: the tension between tool and trophy, the whisper of fiction on your wrist, and the unshakable sense that you’re wearing something just a little bit rebellious.
