IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team” is up for auction now and through until July 7, 2022.
The last piece of the 100-piece limited-edition IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team” is up for auction now – with proceeds going for a charitable cause. The series, launched to honor Toto Wolff, CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team and his exceptional leadership, is entirely sold out except for the number 50 watch, which Bonhams auction house has up for sale now via a digital auction.
The proceeds from the sale will go to Ignite, a charitable initiative supporting diversity and inclusion in motorsports and operated by the Petronas F1™ Team and racer Sir Lewis Hamilton. To further support this cause, IWC has established an annual donation to Ignite of 50,000 Euro. Throughout his nine-year tenure as Team Principal and CEO, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1™ Team has won eight consecutive titles (from 2014-2021) – a record-setting number.
Toto Wolff
The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team watch is crafted in the brand’s proprietary light-weight scratch-resistant Ceratanium and boasts a glass dial and black hands for a truly stealth appeal. Making it even more eye-catching is the great lume the watch has in the dark – the printing is in the team’s signature Petronas Green (almost turquoise).
IWC and Ceratanium®
IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team” watch, number 50, is the last one left from the 100-piece series. It is made of Ceratanium(R) and is up for auction at Bonham’s.
Ceratanium was developed by IWC just a few years ago and is hard, light in weight and robust. The alloy is based on a titanium and is forged explicitly for IWC. The components for the case and crown are machined from bars and then exposed to high temperatures to develop their ceramic properties and matte black look.
It is the perfect material to celebrate the brand’s legendary Perpetual Calendar that was the brainchild of master watchmaker Kurt Klaus during the 1980’s. It was a revolutionary timepiece in that the mechanical program can automatically differentiate the lengths of the months and the leap years so they need no adjustment until the year 2100 (when the leap year that should happen will not occur so that real and solar time can align). The moonphase is shown from both the northern and southern hemispheres. The calendar module on the IWC-manufacture 52615 caliber boasts a single nightly switching impulse and deviates by only one day after 577.5 years.
Bidding for the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team” watch started on June 30 at 40,000 Euro. All proceeds go to the charity, Ignite.
Bidding for the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar “Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team Watch
The timing of the auction announcement was especially planned since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone takes place this weekend (July 3). This is a local event for seven of the 10 competing teams, including Mercedes. One has to say, Perfect Timing.
Bidding for this spectacular watch started yesterday at 40,000 Euro and is expected to sell for somewhere between that number and 100,000 Euro. The auction is ongoing now and runs until 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on July 7. To register to bid, visit Bonham’s.
Bonham’s and IWC auction for charity goes until July 7.
