IWC

lavrentivs
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Ref. 325

The genesis of the Portugieser line starts with this series of watches. Introduced in 1939, it initially had no name nor reference number. It was recorded in IWC’s records with “Mod. 228” for the case model. As for the name, the story goes that a wholesaler from Portugal, thought to be Rodrigues and Antonio Teixeira approached IWC for wristwatches that had the precision of marine chronometers. Hence the later name of Portugieser for these watches.

To accommodate the request for marine chronometer precision, IWC would initially use the 74-17’’’ H4 calibre (17 lignes in diameter and 4mm in height). These watches would be referred to as the first series. Later, IWC would use the 98-17’’’ H4 calibre. It is this calibre that powers this example.



At 41.5mm in diameter and 9.5mm in height this watch has substantial presence. As a Portugieser addict, I keep telling myself that I need to buy one of these one day. While different, the dial design of this example is quite close to the 125th anniversary piece (ref. 5441) for me to justify. In addition to this, the crown on this example doesn’t look right to me. Of other Portugiesers from this era that I have seen, the crowns are usually much bigger and of a different design. It looks like a replacement from a later period to me. I would welcome anyone who could set the record straight on this. Despite that misgiving, this, to my mind, is a gorgeous watch.



What do you think about this watch?