In 1868, New England watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones founded the International Watch Company (IWC) in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen. One hundred years later, in Southern California in 1968, Mattel Toy Company co-founder Elliott Handler built the first Hot Wheels miniature cars. Separated by a century in their origins, but sharing the spirit of American innovation and a strong link to automotive design, both brands formed a partnership last year, a natural follow-up from the watch manufacturer’s launch of its own IWC Racing team in 2018. The “IWC x Hot Wheels Racing Works” collector set, unveiled at this past weekend’s 78th Goodwood Members Meeting in England, is the latest project to emerge from the collaboration.
The set, limited to 50 total pieces, matches up a specially designed IWC’s Pilot’s Watch Chronograph with a Hot Wheels Mercedes-Benz 300 SL model car. The watch’s 43-mm case is made of grade 5 titanium, a material lighter and harder than steel, which is used often in automobile construction. Its surface has a dark matte gray finish, obtained from an elaborate surface treatment involving both the polishing and blasting of case components. At 9 o’clock on the side of the case is an engraving of the Hot Wheels “flame” logo.

The black dial, with its three subdials at 12, 9, and 6 o’clock and day and date windows at 3 o’clock, features a wavy, laser-engraved...