► IWC and Mercedes team up again
► An homage to the iconic G-Wagen
► Costs £30-£40k
Mercedes and IWC have teamed up once again to create this; the Big Pilot’s Watch AMG G 63, and it’s surely one of the most robust timepieces ever made. As you can probably tell from the name, it’s a ticking homage to Stuttgart’s iconic G-Class 4×4 – and it’s nearly as big as the car it’s based on.
That’s big!
IWC’s Big Pilot was the obvious choice for a G-Wagen collaboration, and clearly lives up to its name; with a diameter of 46.2mm it certainly makes a statement – and that’s before you consider all the extra tweaking IWC has done to make this a watch befitting of the G-badge.
There are actually two special editions in the new collaboration; one with a case and crown of 10-carat armour gold (we’ll get to that later) and another which uses a ceramic matrix composite case (we’ll get to that later too).
What are they made out of?
IWC says the new Big Pilot’s Watch AMG G 63 is designed to celebrate the utilitarian routes of both products, as well as their contemporary place in the luxury sector. To that end, the first of the IWCs is black and gold, in keeping with colour scheme of Mercedes’ recently released AMG G G3 Grand Edition (see pictures). It’s made from Armour Gold, an IWC developed allow that’s designed to be harder and more wear resistant than the normal stuff.
The second watch uses a ceramic matrix composite, a material developed jointly with the German Aerospace Center. Often used in brake discs and aviation, it’s a strong and light composite material like carbonfibre – but here the fibres are embedded in a matrix of ceramic rather than polymer.
They look a bit like a G-Class
Both models offer subtle hints to the car on which they’re based, although some are more obvious than others. The circular, white subdials (power reserve and seconds counter) are inspired by the lights of the G-Wagen, while the sapphire glass back on both models echoes the spare wheel cover of the Mercedes 4×4. Less convincing is the way in which the dial’s texture imitates that of the G-Class grille…
How much?
Both of these AMG G 63s replace a V8 with the IWC-manufactured 52010 calibre movement, which features a power reserve of seven days. The CMC edition will set you back £42,300, while the Armour Gold edition costs just £29,000.