Lewis Hamilton and Simu Liu today participated in a star-studded basketball event at Jungle Plaza in Miami Design District. They captained a team of celebrities and athletes, including actor James Marsden, skateboarder Jagger Eaton, former NFL player Antrel Rolle and Dibia DREAM founder and CEO Brandon Okpalobi.
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Team Lewis and Simu Liu went head-to-head in a series of challenges, including lay-ups, free throws and one-on-one games, with Team Simu emerging victorious. The event followed the launch of the dedicated version of the IWC Pilot’s Watch, which celebrates F1’s return to South Florida with an eye-catching Miami Pink rubber strap.
Lewis said: “It’s great to be back in Miami with IWC for their takeover of Jungle Plaza in the Miami Design District. It’s been a while since I’ve played basketball, so I was a little rusty, but I managed to hit a few hoops, at least! I’ve been with the team for ten years, and IWC has been with us for that entire journey, so I’m super proud to be wearing our IWC team watch with the Miami pink strap this weekend. Today we spent time with the Dibia DREAM charity and invited some awesome kids from the local Miami community. Dibia DREAM’s mission is to show kids that you can achieve anything you put your mind to through education, so it was great to be part of that.”
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IWC Schaffhausen became the official engineering partner of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team in 2013. This year, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer celebrates ten years of partnership. As the motorsport’s elite gathers in Florida for the second Miami Grand Prix this weekend, IWC proudly presents the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team watch with a Miami Pink rubber strap.
The timepiece is the first official team watch IWC has produced for its partner. It pays tribute to the passion and determination of the team’s designers, aerodynamicists, race engineers, strategists and mechanics. The pink strap perfectly matches the team’s appearance at the Miami International Autodrome, where eye-catching pink details will be featured on the gloves and shoes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. The team watch on the pink strap will also be worn by team members present at the race in Miami.
Introduced at the first Miami Grand Prix a year ago, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team is crafted from remarkably rigid grade 5 titanium. IWC pioneered this material in the watch industry during the 1980s, when the company introduced the first wristwatch with a titanium case and bracelet. Titanium is about 45 per cent lighter than steel and offers the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal. It is also widely used in automotive engineering to manufacture components subject to extreme stains, such as engine valves.
In addition, titanium impresses with its corrosion resistance and skin-friendliness. A black dial with printing and luminescence in the team’s signature PETRONAS green complements the striking design. The IWC-manufactured 69385 calibre movement powers the chronograph. This robust chronograph movement in a column-wheel design comprises 242 parts and can be viewed through the back of the sapphire glass. Its bi-directional pawl winding system builds up a power reserve of 46 hours in the mainspring. The existing version of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team (Ref. IW388108) on a green rubber strap comes in a bundle with a black calfskin strap and will continue to be available online.
The new reference on the Miami Pink rubber strap (Ref. IW388114) comes in a bundle with the green strap and can only be purchased online and in the Miami boutique for a limited time. Thanks to the integrated EasX-CHANGE system, the straps can be exchanged quickly and easily without additional tools.
In addition, both timepieces are eligible for registration under the My IWC care program and can benefit from a 6-year extension to the standard 2-year International Limited Warranty.
About Simu Liu
Simu Liu is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shang-Chi in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He also played Jung Kim in the CBC Television sitcom Kim’s Convenience and received nominations at the ACTRA Awards and Canadian Screen Awards for his work in Blood and Water. In 2022, Liu authored the memoir We Were Dreamers and was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people worldwide.
