An IWC Pilot Chronograph, which was worn on the podium by Lewis Hamilton following his astonishing victory at the British Grand Prix this year, sold on Saturday for CHF 220,000 (around $254,000) at a charity auction.
The hammer price smashed a pre-sale estimate of CHF 30,000 to CHF 100,000.
Bonhams auctioned the watch alongside a framed pair of signed gloves in The Laureus x IWC Schaffhausen online sale that ended to coincide with The Laureus Charity Night.
Proceeds from the sale are being donated to the Laureus Foundation Switzerland, a branch of Laureus Sport for Good, which works with sports all over the world to raise money and enable children and adolescents to lead a positive and self-determined life.
The IWC Pilot Chronograph was worn on the podium by Lewis Hamilton following his astonishing victory at the British Grand Prix this year.
Hamilton and his Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team have been struggling to match the pace of world champions Red Bull, Mclaren and Ferrari this season, but the magic of Silverstone, where the British driver had previously won eight times, delivered a barely believable ninth victory.
The driver and team are partners with IWC, which provided him with a Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team (reference: IW38830) for the winner’s duties.
The unique watch is charged with the emotion that Hamilton was feeling when he declared: “It has been 945 days since the last win, and it has finally come home. Silverstone I love you. There’s no crowd that deserves this more. This is love, this is family. Thank you all for the love and support.”
The sophisticated chronograph was developed in collaboration with the Mercedes team and comes in a lightweight 41mm case made of Ceratanium, a patented mix of titanium and ceramic developed by IWC.
It is powered by the IWC-manufactured 69385 automatic calibre and normally retails for $13,700.