IWC’s Revived Iconic Sports Watch Could Be Joining a Massive Watch Trend

Is the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team driver showing off a piece unique? Or a very on-trend iteration of one of IWC’s newest and hottest watches?

A photo illustration of an Ingenieur Automatic 42 in black ceramic against a turquoise and black grid with a turquoise overlay

By Ben Bowers

Published May 1, 2025

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Contrary to what many assume, Gerald Genta didn’t design the initial IWC Ingenieur launched in the 1950s. Instead, he’s merely gave the antimagnetic watch designed for scientists a ’70s makeover that completely changed its popular trajectory.

Then, in 2023, after endless speculation and waiting, IWC finally revived the iconic design and has steadily expanded it into a full-fledged family in the years since.

Case in point, just a few weeks ago at Watches and Wonders 2025, the brand announced a new 35mm sized version of the Ingenieur alongside other versions in new colors, materials and complications.

A glorious-looking black ceramic version in 42mm was easily the most hyped new addition, though, and now, it’s already received an on-trend makeover from a somewhat surprising source.

Move Over Ed Sheeran

Much of the anticipation around the 42mm Black Ceramic version of the Ingenieur was sparked by well-known watch-loving celebrity Ed Sheeran, who was spotted wearing the then-mysterious piece in very public settings, including on The Jimmy Fallon Show.

Now Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team driver George Russell appears to have picked up the gauntlet as IWC’s watch teaser-in-chief.

In a personal Instagram post published on April 29th, 2025, Russell showed off his new Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar while also wearing a striking blue watch that’s currently not out on the market.

Out of the Blue

F1 Driver George Russell's wrist is shown holding a Mercedes supercar steering wheel, showing his custom Ingenieur Automatic 42 in black ceramic with a custom blue face. — The fact that this beautiful lifestyle shot of the watch was included in Russell’s Instagram slideshow makes us suspect that this watch didn’t wind up in the photoshoot by accident.

In what feels right out of the influencer product teasing playbook, Russell’s post caption doesn’t mention the watch at all, even though some conspicuous glamour shots of the product are included in the slideshow of images.

However, it appears to be a blue-dialed version of the newly announced 42mm IWC Black Ceramic Ingenieur.

And though the watch world has never seen anything quite like it, its existence makes a lot of sense.

George Russell is an official brand ambassador for IWC watches via the watchmaker’s partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team. So it’s not surprising to see him sporting anything from IWC.

A close-up of the headrest of George Russell's Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar showing his 63 number embroidered into the leather. — The blue dial of George Russell’s mysterious IWC watch happens to match the blue stitching in his brand new Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar.

Furthermore, seeing a special version of a popular IWC model made to match Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS’s livery isn’t unusual.

IWC has already made Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One versions of its Pilot’s Watch Chronograph and Mark XX Pilot’s Watch, that are distinguished by bright pops of the team’s “Petronas green” color.

That said, the particular shade of bluish-green on Russell’s mysterious Ingenieur’s doesn’t appear to match “Petronas’ green” exactly; instead, it looks closer to the “Flamingo Blue” shade Tudor recently introduced to its Black Bay Chrono or earlier Tiffany Blue pieces by Patek and plenty of other brands.

Then again, the subtle color differences could just be a side effect of photo editing or individual screen color settings.

Teaser or Forbidden Fruit?

F1 Driver George Russell shown behind the wheel wearing a Mercedes supercar steering wheel, showing his custom Ingenieur Automatic 42 in black ceramic with a custom blue face. — At least one outlet mentions that Bamford Watch Department created the custom version of the watch for George Russell, which would certainly make sense given the customizer’s track record of making one-off watches for celebrity clients. But Bamford has also engaged in formal brand partnerships with other watchmakers, and this release could easily foreshadow a more formal announcement with IWC soon.

Details on the exact provenance of Russell’s distinctive and mysterious watch are slim (and probably by design).

The team at Oracle Time states that the watch was made in collaboration with Bamford Watch Department, which might immediately dash any fan’s hope of this particular watch receiving a wider release.

That said, it’s unclear where Oracle Time got this confirmation since they don’t reference their source in the story. But we also don’t have any reason to doubt this explanation.

Given the company’s lengthy track record of making custom, one-off watches for celebrities, it would make sense if this is a piece unique from Bamford.

There’s also a chance that this is a teaser of a more formal brand partnership between Bamford Watch Department and IWC, following in the footsteps of Bamford’s previous partnerships with Tag Heuer, Zenith, Chopard, Girard-Perregaux and Bremont.

But if history is any guide in this situation, we don’t expect Russell, IWC, or Bamford to keep us all in the dark for too long about this very unique watch.

IWC Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic

$19,500 at IWC

About the Author: Ben Bowers is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Gear Patrol. Throughout his tenure in media, Ben has written and reported on everything from consumer tech to whiskey, watches, cars, camping, and personal style. These days, he gets to write less than he’d like to.