F1’s timekeeping backers IWC MERCEDES and RICHARD MILLE

SPONSOR Time!

FOUR KEY TIMEKEEPING SPONSORS OF FORMULA ONE

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN MASTINE-FROST

If there’s one industry that’s best suited to partnerships with the watchmaking industry, it’s racing. Whether we’re talking marathons, downhill skiing, or the world of motorsport, we’re talking about a space where timekeeping is everything.

The fi rst chronograph that was commercially marketed and sold for racing was developed by Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec, watchmaker of the French King Louis XVII. The commission first came from the king, as he wanted a device with which he could use to record lap times for his racing horses. Granted this was a large unit in a box, rather than a wristwatch. That came in 1913 from Longines, and shortly after in 1923, Breitling developed the fi rst chronograph wristwatch with separate start/stop pushers as is the standard practice to this day.

For decades, nigh a century, watch brands have sponsored all sorts of racing organizations and events, but at present, no relationship is more consistent than the link between watchmaking and F1. Given the enthusiast demographic, and the huge money that makes the gears of Formula One keep moving (Running an F1 team costs over $250M per year, and the organization netted over $25M per race in the 2019 season), luxury watch brands view F1 as a prime watch buying audience. As it stands, 4 luxury brands stand at the top of Formula One Sponsorship.

IWC—MERCEDES

Next the Mercedes F1 sponsor for 8 years and counting, whose watches have frequently graced the wrist of Lewis Hamilton. In 2019, IWC actually let Hamilton have hands in the design of a limited edition Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar that bears his name, and the result is quite spectacular. A burgundy dial and black ceramic case are contrasted by rose gold indices hands, and large rose gold winding crown. Its strap? Textile in burgundy to match the dial, of course. Much like an F1 car, this IWC is by no means all show and no go, as it’s powered by an in-house manufacture selfwinding caliber with a massive power reserve of 168 hours (or 7 days). The catch? At 46mm across, you’re going to need pretty big wrists to pull this one off .

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO EQUICAPMAG.COM/ CHRONOS

RICHARD MILLE—MCLAREN THEN, FERRARI NOW

This is an interesting scenario, as Richard Mille sponsored a handful of diff erent teams over the years, until announcing a 10-year partnership with McLaren Honda in 2016. Said partnership led to the launch of the brand’s first almost million-dollar watch (The Richard Mille RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph, priced at $980,000). What’s interesting here is that 5 years in it seems that partnership is dead in the water. You see, Ferrari recently announced that it was ending its relationship with Hublot, and in its place came the announcement that Richard Mille is the new Ferrari F1 sponsor. We’ve yet to see a limited edition watch birthed from this partnership, but it’s safe to say that it’ll break soon.