WATCHES & GOLF
A watch looks different when you can imagine the day around it. In IWC’s Dunhill Links photography, the steel bracelet, green dial and white golf glove give a familiar Pilot’s Watch a very specific setting. For us, that is where this partnership becomes interesting: it gives the watch a life beyond the product photograph.
IWC returned as official timing partner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a sixth consecutive year in 2026. The tournament ran from 1–4 October across the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, combining individual professional competition with a professional-amateur team event.
The sporting story concluded with Adrian Meronk winning the individual title by two strokes. He also took the team title alongside Keane frontman Tom Chaplin. That combination captures something distinctive about the Dunhill Links: elite competition and a shared experience occupy the same fairways.
A partnership built through repetition
Our reading of IWC’s involvement begins with continuity. Returning to the same event gives a brand time to become familiar within its surroundings. The association can accumulate meaning through repeat appearances, recognizable imagery and the people who participate.
St Andrews supplies a particularly rich backdrop. In the press photograph below, the course, the town and the IWC clock all sit within one frame. It is an effective image because it gives the watchmaker a place in an existing landscape. You understand the occasion before reading a line of copy.
That is also the commercial logic as we see it. A collector can picture a whole day here: a round, a conversation, a dinner afterwards. A watch becomes easier to relate to when it belongs to recognizable moments. The photographs communicate that possibility; they cannot tell us how much business the sponsorship generates.
The olive-green chronograph
IWC’s announcement identifies ambassador Pablo Larrazábal with the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph, reference IW378008. It has a 43 mm stainless-steel case, an olive-green dial and gold-plated hands. IWC supplies both a five-link steel bracelet and an olive-green rubber strap.
In the official images, the green and gold give the dial a warmth that works well against the steel. The large numerals and three subdials retain the instrument-like character we associate with a Pilot’s Watch. The colour changes the mood while leaving that character legible.
The bracelet is an important part of the visual appeal. Its alternating surfaces catch the light and bring a more dressed quality to the watch. Our preference, judging from these images, is this steel configuration: the contrast gives the green dial room to stand out.
The Superwatchman take
We think this partnership works best when the watch remains central. The close wrist photograph is the strongest image in the release because it lets you see the object clearly while understanding the activity around it. The setting adds context without asking the reader to imagine an entirely different watch.
For collectors, that is the useful takeaway. An association may draw you towards a reference; the design still has to hold your attention afterwards. Here, the green dial, warm hands and substantial steel bracelet give us something specific to discuss once the tournament is over.
Sources: IWC Schaffhausen’s announcement of 1 October 2026 and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship’s official result report. Photography courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen. This article presents Superwatchman’s analysis of published information and official imagery; it is not a hands-on review or an on-site report. Superwatchman has a commercial relationship with IWC.
