Jamie Weiss
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These days, IWC is known for its pilot’s watches, involvement with motorsports and its championing of ceramic watch cases – it’s a high-tech, sporty and maximalist brand. Or is it? IWC has a dual character; it’s also a brand known for restrained, classical design and beautiful yet functional complications. This year, at Watches & Wonders, it’s that more classical side to the Schaffhausen firm’s character that’s been allowed to shine, with IWC unveiling a new range of Portugiesers – including one with a calendar that theoretically only needs to be adjusted once every 45 million years. We’re not kidding.Andrew had the chance to meet with IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr in Zurich ahead of Watches & Wonders to chat about Kurt Klaus and Gunter Blumlein’s enduring influence on the brand as well as about IWC’s engineering DNA and how these new Portugiesers epitomise the brand’s dual character. Let’s dive in then, shall we?IWC Portugieser Eternal CalendarEssentially a perpetual calendar on steroids, this statement piece’s calibre 52460 incorporates a new 400-year gear, meaning this watch will be accurate until 3999 at the earliest.On top of that, thanks to the help of a new reduction gear, the Double Moon display is now accurate to 45 million years.It also boasts a 7-day power reserve and is cased in platinum… This is one seriously special IWC.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser Eternal CalendarReferenceIW505701Case Dimensions44.4mm (D) x 15mm (T)Case MaterialPlatinumWater Resistance50 metresCrystal(s)Box-domed sapphire front, sapphire backDialGlass with white lacquerBraceletBlack alligator leather, platinum folding claspMovementCalibre 52640, IWC-manufactured, automatic with Pellaton windingPower Reserve168 hours (7 days)FunctionHours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve, secular perpetual calendarAvailabilityNowPriceOn requestIWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44The new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 features a more refined case – with a slimmer midcase and new construction for the front and back – making this 44mm giant wear a little smaller than its on-paper dimensions suggest.Their sub-dials are particularly striking, with the outside scales sitting on 15 layers of transparent lacquer.Powered by the familiar IWC calibre 52616, you can choose between 18k white gold, or 18k 5N Armor Gold, which is IWC's proprietary hardened gold alloy.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser Perpetual Calendar 44ReferenceIW503701 (Armor Gold case, silver-plated dial)IW503702 (Armor Gold case, obsidian dial)IW503703 (white gold case, horizon blue dial)IW503704 (white gold case, dune dial)Case Dimensions44.4mm (D) x 14.9mm (T)Case Material18k white gold18k 5N Armor GoldWater Resistance50 metres, screw-down crownCrystal(s)Box-domed sapphire front, sapphire backDialSilver, obsidian, horizon blue, duneBraceletSantoni alligator leather, case-matching folding claspMovementCalibre 52616, IWC-manufactured, automatic with Pellaton windingPower Reserve168 hours (7 days)FunctionsHours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve, perpetual calendarAvailabilityNowPriceA$70,000 (18k Armor Gold)A$72,000 (18k white gold)IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & NightThis lovely tourbillon shows the globe in a novel way, featuring a unique spherical day/night indicator at 9 o’clock.The newly updated calibre 81925 is just as pretty from the back as the front, ?with c?tes de Geneve swirling around the plates, emanating from the globe.Mounted on a black alligator leather strap from Santoni, the renowned Italian shoemaker, it’s crafted exclusively from IWC’s Armor Gold.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & NightReferenceIW545901Case Dimensions42.4mm (D) x 10.8mm (T)Case Material18k Armor GoldWater Resistance60 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire front and backDialLacquered obsidian blackBraceletSantoni alligator leather, curved spring bars, 18k Armor Gold folding claspMovementCalibre 81925, IWC-manufactured, hand-woundPower Reserve84 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, hacking tourbillon, day/night indicatorAvailabilityNowPriceA$125,000IWC Portugieser ChronographThree luxurious new dial colours and metal combinations join the Portugieser Chronograph collection.A particular highlight is the white gold/horizon blue model, which heralds the return of white gold to the collection.These Portugieser Chronographs are powered by the IWC-manufactured calibre 69355, a reliable column wheel chronograph movement.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Chronograph here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser ChronographReferenceIW371624 (stainless steel case, dune dial)IW371625 (red gold case, obsidian dial)IW371626 (white gold case, horizon blue dial)Case Dimensions41mm (D) x 13.1mm (T) x 47.9mm (L2L)Case MaterialStainless steel18k 5n red gold18k white goldWater Resistance30 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire front and backDialDune, obsidian, horizon blueBraceletSantoni alligator leather, case-matching folding claspMovementCalibre 69355, IWC-manufactured, automaticPower Reserve46 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, small seconds, chronographAvailabilityNowPriceA$30,000IWC Portugieser Automatic 42The new Portugieser Automatic 42 collection brings the Portugieser back to its classically big roots, harking back to the Portugieser Automatic ref. IW50001 of the 2000s as well as the OG Portugiesers of the 1930s.It’s powered by the IWC calibre 52011, a seven-day power reserve automatic that powers many of the brand’s Big Pilot models – a big improvement.The new collection encompasses three different case materials and five different dial colours across six models.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser Automatic 42ReferencesIW501701 (stainless steel case, silver dial, gold hands)IW501702 (stainless steel case, silver dial, blue hands)IW501704 (stainless steel case, blue dial)IW501705 (stainless steel case, dune dial)IW501707 (red gold case, obsidian dial)IW501708 (white gold case, horizon blue dial)Case Dimensions42.44mm (D) x 13mm (T)Case MaterialStainless steel18k 5n red gold18k white goldWater Resistance50 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire front and backDialSilver, blue, dune, obsidian, horizon blueBraceletSantoni alligator leather with case-matching folding clasps (precious metal models)Black alligator leather strap with stainless steel folding clasps (steel models)Stainless steel bracelet (IW501704 only)MovementCalibre 52011, IWC-manufactured, automaticPower Reserve168 hours (7 days)FunctionsHours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, dateAvailabilityNowPriceA$20,000 (IW501701, IW501702, IW501705)A$21,500 (IW501704)A$38,000 (IW501707)A$40,000 (IW501708)IWC Portugieser Automatic 40The Portugieser Automatic 40 also gets a subtle update in 2024, with the small seconds indicator now simplified and featuring more pronounced azurage.A more substantive change is the caseback, which now features an intriguing double glassbox design.Like the Portugieser Chronograph, precious metals make a return to the range for these time-only models: red gold and white gold.Read a full review of the IWC Portugieser Automatic 40 here.BrandIWCModelPortugieser Automatic 40ReferenceIW358401 (red gold case, obsidian dial)IW358402 (white gold case, horizon blue dial)Case Dimensions40.4mm (D) x 12.4mm (T)Case Material18k 5n red gold18k white goldWater Resistance50 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire front and backDialObsidian or horizon blueBraceletSantoni alligator leather, red gold pin buckle (IW358401)Santoni light-blue calfskin, white gold pin buckle (IW358402)MovementCalibre 82200, IWC-manufactured, automaticPower Reserve60 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, small secondsAvailabilityNowPriceA$26,500?(IW358401)A$28,000 (IW358402)
09.04.24