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Lewis Hamilton continues to be full of surprises.
The Formula One racer for Mercedes Benz took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to share a teaser of what appears to be a custom IWC watch. The icy timepiece shares similarities with models from the Swiss watchmaker’s Portuguieser series: There’s a chronograph minute counter at 12 o’clock and a small seconds display at 6 o’clock. It begins to feel like a crossover with the brand’s Ingenieur models, however, the more you pick up on its widened bezel and baton-shaped hour counters.
Whether it’s a one-off custom model or a series production piece was not immediately known. (Robb Report reached out to IWC for more information, but hadn’t heard the official word from Schaffhausen as of press time.) If it’s the latter, this wouldn’t be the first time Hamilton has jumped the gun on the “official” unveiling of a timepiece. Back in June, he made headlines at the Spanish Grand Prix—and not solely for his second-place victory. The seven-time F1 champ was photographed sporting a mysterious IWC watch during celebrations in Barcelona. It was officially unveiled by the Swiss watchmaker just over a week later as a new Top Gun watch inspired by the wintery landscape of Lake Tahoe.
Hamilton, an IWC ambassador since 2013, has since been spotted wearing the watch at a number of events, including the F1 Italian Grand Prix 2023 this week in Monza, Italy. The stylish racer paired the timepiece with a black jersey emblazoned a host of partner names from Mercedes Benz to Pirelli, layered pearl and diamond necklaces, plus blacked-out sunglasses to complete the look. The new Top Gun reference in white effortlessly pops in images against the dark hues.
The World Champion spoke with Robb Report last month in the Mercedes motorhome at Amsterdam’s Zandvoort circuit. He exclusively revealed details on his F1 break, how a near-death experience isn’t stopping him from taking risks, and his thoughts on the season ahead. He even offered the writer, Robin Swithinbank, a hands-on look at his Lake Tahoe watch (“Have you seen this?” he asks excitedly, passing me his watch). Hopefully the next time we catch up with Hamilton, he’ll have more to say about his latest piece of wrist candy.
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