Pilot George Russell spotted wearing a IWC

Monaco is the one street circuit where watch spotting rivals the racing itself, and George Russell delivered on both counts during the 2023 Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS driver was photographed signing fans' items in the paddock area, his right wrist carrying a restrained but technically sophisticated IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar in stainless steel with a white silver-toned dial — a piece that quietly underlines why IWC remains a fixture in the paddock.

The Portugieser Annual Calendar — reference IW503501 in its current steel/white-dial configuration — houses IWC's in-house Calibre 52850, a 44.2 mm automatic movement with an impressive 168-hour (7-day) power reserve. The annual calendar mechanism requires just one date correction per year, advancing correctly through months of 30 and 31 days automatically. The white lacquered dial layout follows Portugieser tradition faithfully: applied Arabic numerals, a slim railway-track chapter ring, subsidiary seconds at 9 o'clock, and a power-reserve indicator at 3 o'clock. Month and day-of-week are displayed via twin windows at 12 o'clock, with a large date at 6. The 44.2 mm stainless steel case is paired with a black alligator leather strap — visible in the shot — finished with a pin buckle.

From a collector standpoint, the Portugieser Annual Calendar occupies an interesting tier. It delivers genuine complication utility — the annual calendar is far more practical than a perpetual for everyday wear — without the astronomical price of IWC's perpetual references. The Portugieser line itself traces back to 1939, when Portuguese merchants commissioned unusually large, pocket-watch-movement-equipped wristwatches from the Schaffhausen manufacture. That heritage of oversized cases and legible dials has never been abandoned.

George Russell, who secured his first Formula 1 victory at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix driving for Mercedes-AMG, has been associated with IWC through the brand's long-standing partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. The pairing is logical: IWC's engineering-first communication aligns naturally with a team that markets precision and performance above glamour.

At retail, the IW503501 lists at approximately $17,900 USD. On the secondary market, steel Portugieser Annual Calendar examples trade close to or slightly below retail, reflecting healthy but not speculative demand — making it a sensible entry point for a complication watch with genuine manufacture credentials.