Baselworld/SIHH

Press Release

The legacy of the seafarers

IWC celebrates its legendary Portuguese watches in 2010

The Schaffhausen watch manufacturer IWC is celebrating one of its oldest-established watch families in 2010: the Portuguese watches enter their eighth decade. This will be the occasion for some fascinating novelties, such as the Portuguese Grande Complication, the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde or the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph. These large format, mechanical precision instruments perpetuate the legacy of the famous seafarers to this day – and hand it down to today's explorers.

"Heroes of the sea, noble race…", runs the first line of the Portuguese national anthem. It is an expression of the collective memory, in which the great seafarers of Portugal are still very much alive to the present time – Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias or Fernando Magellan. And in 1934 Fernando Pessoa wrote his national epic "Mar Português – Portuguese Sea", a homage to the spirit of discovery and heroic courage of the seafarers who made Portugal's former international standing possible in the first place. Five years later, in 1939, IWC supplied the first Portuguese watches commissioned by two importers in Lisbon and Porto. These were oversized precision timepieces with pocket watch movements in the tradition of nautical instruments. They established a completely new type of watch in those days. Today these watches are a permanent feature of the horological identity of IWC and they are sought-after ambassadors of a watch culture at the highest level all over the world.

In 2010, the Portuguese watches from IWC are entering their eighth decade. They have remained entirely faithful to their historical heritage: clarity, size, accuracy and exquisite mechanics. Most of the complications from the Haute Horlogerie of IWC are present in this family of watches today. And there will be a few more in the "Year of the Portuguese", which the Schaffhausen manufacturer is dedicating to its classic model. The horological inventiveness, which finds stylish expression in case diameters from more than 40 to 45 millimetres, is impressive:

The Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph (Ref. 3902) not only revives the name of one of the most successful IWC watches of the last century. The new Yacht Club also introduces a generous pinch of sporting appeal into the Portuguese family – and in this way does justice to its legendary predecessor. It has been upgraded technically to make it the perfect companion for navigation and sailing: in the IWC-manufactured 89360-calibre movement, it has one of the most modern and robust chronograph movements on board – with a flyback function and analogue display of the long stop times via two hands on an inner dial. It is water-resistant to 6 bar and is the only Portuguese to have luminous hands and indices. Its large, clear dial makes it a perfect chronograph. It is available in steel with a black or silver-plated dial and in red gold with a slate-coloured dial and black registers.

Back to the roots: with this message the new Portuguese Hand-Wound (Ref. 5454) appeals to all those who are still fascinated by the original form and understatement of the Portuguese. And rightly so: in the IWC-manufactured 98295- calibre hand-wound movement it, too, has the technology of a classic pocket watch on board. Two variants in steel drawing closely on the original interpret the theme anew and with a breath of modernity: in the version with the black dial, this finds expression in a silver seconds scale with discreet red "60" marking. The model with a silver-plated dial differs from all the previous faces of the Portuguese watch through a grey counter for the small seconds and likewise red "60" marking.

After 30 years as an exclusive solitaire in the manufacturer's range, the Grande Complication now makes its début in the red gold Portuguese case – as the Portuguese Grande Complication (Ref. 3774). With more room inside the 45 millimetres case, and for the first time waterresistant to 3 bar, the beautiful sound from its minute repeating mechanism nevertheless remains unchanged. A discreetly engraved globe and gold appliqués decorate the silver-plated dial. True to the tradition of the Grande Complication, a limited edition of fifty watches per year is retained. A new engraving on the case back depicts a sextant and makes the affiliation with the Portuguese family obvious.

The coveted Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère in two new, limited series in platinum and red gold with the retrograde date display is enhanced by an additional horological refinement, which also appears in the name of this novelty: Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde (Ref. 5044). A date indicator with a flyback function at the end of the month has been integrated into this exceptional watch for the first time. The role of the seconds display is performed by the cage of the minute tourbillon.

The Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound (Ref. 5447) with its reduced overall height and the minute tourbillon at "9 o'clock" has undergone a subtle and attractive facelift: the signature of the founder of the company, F.A. Jones, on the dial opposite the tourbillon is a reference to the factory movement of the 98900-calibre family, which is evocative of the design of the first Jones calibres. This horological gem in red gold with a black dial is limited to 500 watches.

No other time machine approaches as close to the ideal of a perfect navigational instrument in the infinite ocean of time as a perpetual calendar from IWC. This is particularly true of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5021) with its autonomous perpetual calendar, complete year display, countdown function to the next full moon and a two-hemisphere moon phase display, which shows the age of the moon for the northern and southern hemispheres with recordbreaking accuracy: with a deviation of only one day in 577 years. It is now available in warm red gold in the existing case size of 44.2 millimetres, and in a white gold case with a midnight blue dial. The Portuguese Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5023) with the traditional display of the moon phase is now also being manufactured in the same case size, in red gold with a silver-plated dial and in white gold with a slate-coloured dial.

Since 2009, the Portuguese Minute Repeater (Ref. 5449) with the new IWC-manufactured 98950-calibre movement in hunter style has chimed out the time in the most delightful way. Since then, it has also had the small seconds at "6 o'clock". Each of the two variants in platinum and red gold is limited to 500 watches.

Occupying a position among the absolute classics of the watch family is the Portuguese Chronograph (Ref. 3714) with its 30-minutes counter and small seconds. This is very much a style icon, and its 40.9 millimetres case also makes it a good choice for male and female connoisseurs of normal sized watches. Since the end of 2009, it is also complemented by two variants in a red gold case, one with a slate coloured dial and black inner dials, and one with a silver-plated dial, both with solid red gold appliqués.

The Portuguese Automatic (Ref. 5001) with the large, IWC-manufactured 51011-calibre movement and seven-day power reserve has also undergone a facelift. This watch, too, in its 42.3 millimetres case, is now offered in red gold instead of rose gold and has solid red gold appliqués. The steel variant now features a silver-plated dial and rose gold-plated hands and appliqués.

The "Year of the Portuguese" at IWC has begun. It is an appreciation of exquisite watches, but above all the eternal idea behind them: namely that man, driven by the spirit of discovery, explored methods for finding his bearings in order to achieve his ambitious targets. And that he ultimately mustered up the courage and placed himself in the greatest danger, in order to fulfil his desires and ambitions. The Portuguese watches from IWC are a symbol and a distant echo of those epic deeds, which took place 500 years ago. They still embody the spirit of discovery of bygone days. Most of all, though, the Portuguese watches are instruments of the modern age – as an aid to our own navigation through time.

A revolution in navigation thanks to precision clocks

Marine navigation is thought to have originated approximately 6,000 years ago and was presumably first developed in India, Egypt and, for the Mediterranean, in the region of what today is Lebanon. We know that this timeframe saw the beginnings of celestial navigation, in other words, determining a course based on the sun, stars and their angle with respect to the horizon. Already in the 4th century B.C. there were regional maritime handbooks for the Mediterranean which listed the tides, harbours, etc. Starting in the 7th century, the Vikings were also outstanding navigators, who in addition to the methods known up until that time also incorporated observations of birds and ocean currents, and around the year 980 they sailed to Greenland and North America. A major navigational aid was later the compass, invented by the Chinese and first used for navigation on land. Later on, the Arabian people took the development of in particular astronomical measuring instruments far further and produced the first nautical charts.

In the 15th century, Henry the Navigator perfected these methods in the Portuguese school of maritime navigation at Sagres and had the most famous cartographers under contract. At this school, celestial navigation using the sun and the North Star were also refined. With these navigational aids, it was possible to determine the position of a ship along the lines of latitude with relative accuracy but not a course along lines of longitude. This only became feasible when John Harrison invented his marine chronometers (1735–1759). At roughly the same time, the sextant was invented for the exact measurement of angles. With the combination of celestial  navigation and exact time, which could be taken along from the home port with its known coordinates, it was possible for the first time to precisely determine a position at any location on earth.

John Harrison's groundbreaking invention of marine chronometers was triggered by a maritime catastrophe: during a storm on 22 October 1707, a fleet of the Royal Navy on the way from Gibraltar to its home port of Portsmouth was shattered upon the shoals of the Isles of Scilly due to an error in navigation. Some 1600 men died and only 26 survived. The helmsmen were not at fault – it simply was not possible to determine an exact position along lines of longitude with the means available at the time. All the other famous seafarers up to then, from Vasco da Gama to Columbus, faced the same problem: given an imaginary line from the North Pole to the South Pole, they could determine their position up and down that line relatively accurately but not their position to either side of the line.

With the Longitude Act, the British Parliament in 1714 offered a prize of the then unimaginably large sum of 20,000 pounds – by today's standards roughly two million euros – for anyone who could come up with a method of accurately determining a ship's position with a deviation of at most one-half a degree of longitude. Among those who heard about this offer was the self-educated clockmaker and carpenter John Harrison in northern England. Following multiple clock constructions of large dimensions, his "H4" was completed in 1759 in the form of an oversized pocket watch. It was not only sufficiently seaworthy, it also achieved the required accuracy: in an ocean voyage of 81 days to Jamaica and back (1761), it lost only five seconds. Even so, Harrison had to fight against his academic critics in the Board of Longitude for the promised prize money. In 1765 he received half of the 20,000 pounds. Only eight years later, after he had constructed the improved "H5" model and when King George III intervened on his behalf, did he receive a further 8,750 pounds. All of his clocks, from the "H1" to the "H5", can be viewed in operating condition in the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

Harrison 's precision clocks revolutionised marine navigation. Henceforth, besides the compass, sextant, charts and navigational handbooks, the time exact to the second, carried along in elaborately constructed marine chronometers, was among the most important aids on board. It was only through radio navigation in the 20th century based on taking directional readings from multiple radio signals, and starting in 1995 by determining position with the help of the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS), that navigation became simpler and even more precise. But the clock is, as ever before, the nautical symbol for the necessity of proceeding safely from a point of departure to a destination. Ocean travel has this to thank for its ascendancy.

IW570208 Portuguese Hand-Wound Pure Classic stainless steel, argenté 7'300  

Welcome to the club

Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph

One of watchmaking's genuine legends of the last century from IWC Schaffhausen is now back in a new guise: the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph introduces a sportingly elegant note into the Portuguese family for the first time, with an IWC-manufactured chronograph movement and technical features that are quite impressive.

Times change. And so do boats, to invoke a maritime image: if the model under the Yacht Club name – the most successful IWC of the 1960s and 70s – was a sturdy craft on the river of time, then the new Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph has rather more of an elegant racing yacht about it. And, as we know, the demands placed on the equipment are nowhere so high as when navigating on the high seas.

The legendary name of this unpretentious watch with its automatic winding system and its movement spring-mounted in the case is back. And yet the Yacht Club for the third millennium does not mimic the past in any way. This is clear from a first glimpse of the new Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph.

This new creation – a chronograph with the well established IWC-manufactured 89360-calibre movement – is an elegant sports watch and embodies the best technical ingredients. This makes it a reliable timepiece whose functionality is beyond reproach and in which every detail, however minor, has been optimized. Not least, it is also a nautical precision instrument, because it will not let its owner down, even when sailing in rough seas.

The Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph is the most sporting watch in the rich tradition of its family history that goes back more than seventy years, and as such it is water-resistant to 6 bar and is equipped with a screw-in crown and a crown protection. Its chronograph permits the recording of aggregate times of up to twelve hours on the common counter for the minutes and hours and can be reset to zero via the flyback function at any time while running, so that it is instantly ready to start measuring a new time. There are many ways of measuring long stop times. Yet none are as convenient and unambiguous as those provided by the analogue display of the 89360 calibre: these can be read like a normal time display. In addition, the movement with its integral chronograph is designed in such a way that the measurement of even long stop times does not lead to fluctuations in amplitude and associated inaccuracy. The signal red centre stopwatch hand in effect also plays a central role. Together with the supplementary flange for seconds and fractions of a second, it allows extremely accurate short-interval timing.

In terms of functionality, the dial appeals with its clear railway track-style chapter ring and – for the first time in the Portuguese family – with luminescent indices and hands. It also incorporates date and small seconds displays. In spite of its sporting characteristics, the new Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph represents a Portuguese that is true to type with its consummately neat dial and Arabic numerals.

The Yacht Club is reporting back for duty in a remarkable way after an absence of around a quarter of a century. It is available as the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph in three variants: in steel with a silver-plated dial, rhodium-plated luminescent hands and appliqués. Again in steel with a black dial, silver-plated flange and rhodium-plated hands and appliqués, also luminescent. The most refined model in 18 carat red gold has an slate-coloured dial with a sun pattern ground finish, subtly contrasted by the black small seconds display circle and the black ring for the aggregate minutes of the chronograph. This model is distinguished additionally by gold-plated hands and solid red gold appliqués.

All three variants are worn on a black rubber strap with a folding clasp. And during those hours of total calm on board, far out to sea, a glance through the sapphire-glass back at the IWC-manufactured movement with IWC's double-pawl winding even brings the yachtsman a little distraction…

Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph

Ref. IW3902

Features

Chronograph with IWC-manufactured automatic movement and IWC's double-pawl winding, flyback function, stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds, hour and minute counters combined in a single subdial at 12 o'clock, date display, small hacking seconds, crown protection

Movement

Calibre 89360

Beats 28,800/h

Jewels 40

Power reserve 68 h

Winding automatic

Case

Materials watch in stainless steel with silver-plated dial and black rubber strap, folding clasp in stainless steel

watch in stainless steel with black dial and black rubber strap, folding clasp in stainless steel

watch in 18 ct red gold with slate-coloured dial and black rubber strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

Glass sapphire, convex,

antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Crown screw-in

Water-resistant 6 bar

Diameter 45.4mm

Height 14.5mm

 Witness to time

Portuguese Hand-Wound

The Portuguese Hand-Wound is a contemporary witness to IWC's Portuguese family of watches, which has been in existence since 1939. Often when the manufacturer celebrates a significant anniversary, it presents connoisseurs with an item that further extends that particular success story. That is once again the case with this unassuming beauty, which celebrates the family's eighth decade.

The story lives on and impresses through its exceptional levels of achievement. This was already the case in 1993, when the Schaffhausen manufacturer brought the Portuguese watch from 1939 back into the present day as an outstanding example of its skill and expertise to mark the 125th anniversary of its founding. This provided the initial spark for the establishment of the Portuguese family, the most important range of watches from IWC Schaffhausen. The "IWC Vintage Collection", issued to commemorate the manufacturer's 140th birthday, was also not complete without a contemporary interpretation of this horological classic.

In 2010, the manufacturer's "Year of the Portuguese", in which this horological celebrity enters its eighth decade, the Portuguese Hand-Wound once again builds a bridge between the past and the present and adds another chapter to the story of this historic model. The manufacturer thus delights all connoisseurs of this horological beauty with two unlimited steel models. For it was in a stainless steel case with an original pocket watch movement that the first pocket watch-style wristwatch made its appearance seventy years ago.

The puristic Portuguese line, which combined a timeless, elegant design language with an ultimate degree of horological perfection even when first created, is considered by experts and collectors to be one of the very few watches which epitomizes good taste regardless of prevailing trends. Because only true values endure. Its characteristic design elements – shape of the case, size and design of the dial – are nonnegotiable. As a result, it is easier to explain what distinguishes this novelty from earlier Portuguese models than what they have in common.

The Portuguese Hand-Wound in stainless steel with a black dial, rhodium-plated Arabic numerals and the characteristic feuille hands is conspicuous by its silver-plated seconds subdial with the distinctive detail of a "60" in signal red. Its sibling model with a silver-plated dial and rose gold-plated indices and hands stands out with its seconds subdial in light grey, also with a small red "60". Features common to both are the typical chapter ring in the traditional railwaytrack style and, as the drive mechanism, the IWC-manufactured 98295 calibre with stylistic echoes of the first Jones movements, such as the nickel-silver three-quarter bridge and the elongated index to facilitate precision adjustment of the effective length of the spring.

The manufacturer recalls its roots with these two unassuming beauties – and once again pays a compliment to that very first Portuguese watch which approached so close to the ideal of a perfect mechanical watch such a long time ago.

Portuguese Hand-Wound

Ref. IW5454

Features

Mechanical movement, balance with highprecision adjustment cam on the balance arms, Breguet spring, plate and nickel-silver three-quarter bridge, elongated precision adjustment index, special decoration (Geneva stripes), small hacking seconds

Movement

Calibre 98295

Beats 18,000/h

Jewels 18

Power reserve 46 h

Winding hand-wound

Case

Materials watch in stainless steel with black dial and black alligator leather strap, pin buckle in stainless steel

watch in stainless steel with silver-plated dial and black alligator leather strap, pin buckle in stainless steel

Glass sapphire, arched edge, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 44mm

Height 10mm

The new flagship

of the Portuguese fleet

Portuguese Grande Complication

The Grande Complication from IWC Schaffhausen, which brought the highest horological complications together in a wristwatch as a world-first precisely twenty years ago, now appears for the first time in a Portuguese case. It also retains its impressive technical inventory: perpetual calendar, minute repeater and chronograph with automatic movement.

Vasco da Gama's flagship, on which he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope more than 500 years ago and discovered the sea route to India, was the caravel Nau São Gabriel. The new flagship of the most celebrated family of watches from IWC is the Portuguese Grande Complication. This is the superlative watch from IWC, which in 1990 was the first manufacturer to bring together the highest horological complications and to make them "wearable" as a wristwatch. A timepiece of the highest prestige and a solitaire in the collection, which is limited to 50 numbered examples annually. This masterpiece now has a new home inside the Portuguese case – and a new face.

Grande Complication – lying behind this title of distinction in the world of Haute Horlogerie is the ancient dream of making the most significant discoveries of the watchmaker's craft oscillate, run and even chime together. Precisely twenty years ago, the engineers at IWC realized this dream, a feat that brought worldwide acclaim to the manufacturer. It took more than seven years of intensive development work in Schaffhausen before 657 individual parts could be assembled together in the smallest possible space in order to bring to fruition a perfectly functioning whole, which, in spite of its complexity, is characterized by its ingeniously simple operation and total suitability for everyday use. Only the most talented designers and master watchmakers can accomplish this. And that is why the range of such exceptional achievements has been very limited to this day.

The Portuguese Grande Complication, for which a new case with a diameter of 45 millimetres has been created, inherits an extraordinarily wellproven technical inventory: the 79091-calibre chronograph movement with automatic winding and aggregate time recording up to 12 hours, the minute repeater – a complication specially constructed at the time – which belongs to the most modern and reliable mechanisms of its kind and, last but not least, the autonomous perpetual calendar. It also shows the wearer the year, decade, century and millennium in a four-digit display, as well as the day, date and month, in a way that is unsurpassed to this day. A perpetual moon phase display, with a deviation of only a single day in 122 years from the actual cycle of the moon, is connected to the calendar, which requires no adjustments or interventions on the part of the wearer until the year 2100 and advances all the calendar indications in a mechanically programmed and synchronous manner.

The previous Grande Complication, which will continue to be built in parallel, already possessed water-resistance to 1 bar thanks to the patented slide mechanism; in the case of a minute repeater, this is almost equivalent to squaring the circle. In the new Portuguese Grande Complication, the water-resistance has been increased to an impressive 3 bar. The new flagship of this watch family is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the Portuguese seafarers, and this can also be seen in engraving on the back of the red gold case. A sextant, which is an indispensable instrument of nautical navigation alongside the watch, is a reference here to this spiritual affinity.

The substantially larger silver-plated dial provides a perfect setting for the calendar indications of such a complex watch. Against the background of a discreetly engraved globe with its degrees of longitude and latitude – positioned, incidentally, in the correct 23.4-degree angle of inclination of the terrestrial axis – the counters for the chronograph and the calendar indications are accommodated in addition to the small seconds and the moon phase display. A shaped sapphire glass that has antireflective coating on both sides arches over the dial with its solid red gold appliqués, Arabic numerals for the hours and railway track-style chapter ring. The rectangular, lightly bevelled operating buttons of the chronograph capture the understated style of the Portuguese case. Only the slide on the left side of the case, which "makes the music", reveals to an expert the nature of the precision mechanical refinement that is concealed inside this watch with its minute repeater. Speaking of which, in spite of the  increased water-resistance of the case, the loudness and the balanced sound quality have not been impaired. This is assured not least by the larger sound chamber and a cleverly engineered solution, which utilizes the sapphire glass for transmission of the sound to the outside. Cast off – for the new flagship of the Portuguese fleet.

Portuguese Grande Complication

Ref. IW3774

Features

Grande Complication with 657 mechanical components, automatic chronograph movement, perpetual calendar with display of the day, date, month and the complete year in four digits, perpetual moon phase, minute repeater, small hacking seconds, engraving of a sextant on the case back

Movement

Calibre 79091

Beats 28,800/h

Jewels 75

Power reserve 44 h

Winding automatic

Case

Materials watch and folding clasp in 18 ct red gold, silver-plated dial, dark brown alligator leather strap with 18 ct red gold stitching

Glass sapphire, arched edge, antireflective coating on both sides

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 45mm

Height 16.5mm

Mysterious diva

Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde

The Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère has for many years been one of the most beautiful watches with a rotating carriage escapement. The designers at IWC Schaffhausen have now refined this coveted and exclusive timepiece with its seven-day power reserve to include an extraordinary date display.

This is the diva of the Portuguese family – provocative, beautiful and mysterious. Its admirers have continued to increase in number ever since it made its debut in 2004. This can be attributed to its generous proportions, its special class and the remarkable setting of its tourbillon escapement – as an "animated twelve" against a deep black background. The Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère owes its mysteriousness to the illusion that the fine cage containing the balance appears to rotate in a void. The designers at IWC have now refined this already mysterious watch to include a date indicator that flies back at the end of the month – as the Portuguese Tourbillon

Mystère Rétrograde.

The graduated scale for the supplementary flyback date indicator, which is integrated into the IWC-manufactured 51900-calibre movement, extends over one quarter of the surface of the generously dimensioned dial. On reaching the end of any months with 31 days – January, March, May, July, August, October, December – the date indicator springs back automatically to "1". In shorter months, or also if the watch has not been worn for some time, the date indicator can be advanced by the rapid adjustment function and flies back to the first day of the month. The time does not need to be adjusted in conjunction with this. This superior watch is now enhanced by an exceptional display.

The small seconds, which previously occupied this position, is replaced in a particularly appealing fashion by the minute tourbillon. Its steel cage with the three characteristic stays arranged in the shape of a star performs this function. On the right half of the dial, the indicator for the seven-day power reserve displays information about the remaining available power of the spring barrel, which is supplied to it in a highly efficient manner via the proven Pellaton winding system of this calibre family. The flying minute tourbillon, that is to say it is supported on only one side, consists of 81 parts and weighs 0.433 gram. It provides the focal point of this dial-cum-stage as an "animated twelve" and rotates against the deep black background of the black under part of its cage – a wheel which rotates together with the cage once every minute.

Whereas in the previous model the tourbillon was still embedded in a plate segment decorated with cylindrical grinding, in the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde it is set in a ring that is mirror-finished on the inside, in which the parts of the escapement are reflected once again. For aside from the technical delicacy of this escapement, the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde is above all a true feast for the eyes.

In addition to the 500-piece limited edition of the variant in 18 carat red gold with solid gold appliqués and a silver-plated dial, a 250-piece limited edition of the variant in platinum with a ruthenium-black dial and rhodium-plated hands and indices is also available.

Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde

Ref. IW5044

Features

Mechanical IWC-manufactured movement with Pellaton winding system and seven-day power reserve, retrograde date display, flying minute tourbillon with 81 parts, Breguet spring, rotor with 18 ct yellow gold medallion; red gold variant limited to 500 pieces, platinum variant limited to 250 pieces

Movement

Calibre 51900

Beats 19,800/h

Jewels 44

Power reserve 7 days (168 h)

Winding automatic

Tourbillon weight 0.433 g

Case

Materials watch in 18 ct red gold with silver-plated dial and dark brown alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

watch in platinum with ruthenium-black dial and black alligator leather strap, folding clasp in platinum

Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 44.2mm

Height 15.5mm

Whirlwind from 270 degrees West

Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound

A new tourbillon classic takes its place in the Portuguese family, with a hand-wound pocket watch movement – tradition in its purest form. The Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound is an horological gem and a tribute to the founder of the company, F. A. Jones.

Beware of a strong whirlwind approaching from 270 degrees West. This is not a weather alert, but the briefest possible description of the new Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound. Tourbillon translates as whirlwind. The escapement in the rotating carriage is also clearly visible on the dial at "9 o'clock", in nautical parlance at 270 degrees West. The Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound follows in the wake of the limited-edition Portuguese Regulateur Tourbillon, itself dedicated to devotees of earlier observatory watches, with its hour display in a separate subdial.

The new Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound presents the familiar face of the Portuguese with its elegant feuille hands and a chapter ring in the railway-track style. Any appearance by the Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound always attracts attention: initially, it projects only a little from beneath the cuff of the wearer's shirt. Yet it is unmistakeably a Portuguese, a refined icon, with the sweeping signature of the American founder of the company, F. A. Jones, on the dial. The flying minute tourbillon only emerges with the final third of the dial and reveals its affiliation to the horological nobility. The tourbillon has always been perceived as a statement of expertise and exquisite horological taste. One simply never tires of marvelling at this precision mechanical performance.

The allusion to continuing tradition is also embodied in the watchmaking technology of the Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound. The mechanical IWC-manufactured 98900-calibre movement can be observed through the see through sapphire-glass back. It lies at the top of a long ancestral line of famous pocket watch movements from the Schaffhausen manufacturer and is ideally suited for large wristwatches with hand winding. The first Portuguese watches dating from the late 1930s were already equipped with pocket watch movements. Based on the 98000-calibre family that has been built and nurtured since the 1920s, it now combines tradition with the latest watchmaking advances. The finely decorated nickel-silver three-quarter bridge evokes the design principle of the earliest Jones calibres. Its visual counterpart is the bridge for the minute tourbillon provided with a gold medallion (Probus Scafusia). The balance frequency of this drive mechanism has been increased from 18,000 to 28,800 beats per hour. The index-free balance thus oscillates four times per second as it rotates in its cage. Precision adjustment is carried out via four adjusting screws. The higher frequency in conjunction with the modern escapement system assures excellent accuracy.

The Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound, with a chunky crown used to supply a power reserve of 54 hours, is housed in a case with a diameter of 43.1 millimetres and a height of only 11 millimetres. Extraordinary things come in small numbers, however: this horological gem in 18 carat red gold is limited to 500 pieces.

Portuguese Tourbillon Hand-Wound

Ref. IW5447

Features

IWC-manufactured pocket watch movement with hand winding and nickel-silver threequarter bridge, flying minute tourbillon with 47 parts; limited edition of 500 pieces

Movement

Calibre 98900

Beats 28,800/h /4 Hz

Jewels 21

Power reserve 54 h

Winding hand-wound

Tourbillon weight 0.689 g

Case

Materials watch in 18 ct red gold with a black dial and a black alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 43.1mm

Height 11mm

Beguiling new eternity

Portuguese Perpetual Calendar

The manufacturer has treated the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, its specialist for long calendar periods, to a gentle facelift and an extension to the model range: two new variants in red gold and two in white gold increase the variety of models on offer. Technically, there was nothing left to improve. This time machine with its perpetual calendar stands for sheer perfection.

It is the Portuguese watch which one might easily have imagined on the wrist of famous seafarers. Learned individuals with the necessary far-sightedness, spirit of discovery and a concrete vision of the future. Because the future is precisely the area of expertise of this particular time machine, which is as beguiling as it is technically impressive. The perpetual calendar, invented 25 years ago, lives on here in all its original complexity and genius – in conjunction with an IWC-manufactured large movement from the 50000-calibre family with a seven-day power reserve.

This is an ideal combination for a complicated watch with calendar indications displaying the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase. The watch displays advance completely autonomously, mechanically programmed and synchronized with one another. Save for a leap day correction that becomes necessary in February 2100, this continues uninterrupted and without any intervention on the part of the wearer, who simply needs to input the required kinetic energy via the highly efficient Pellaton winding system of the automatic movement when wearing the watch. According to the complicated Gregorian calendar, which always assures years of almost constant length, the leap day that would be due to occur is absent at the end of February in the year in question, 2100, and this will necessitate an adjustment by a watchmaker. It might thus be appropriate to ensure that one's grandson or great-grandson is aware of this fact. In that faroff year, incidentally, the century slide at the end of a long transmission chain will also be advanced by a couple of millimetres, and the numeral "21" for the next hundred years set in the display window in place of the currently indicated "20" to make the year display complete.

The beguiling new eternity in the form of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar retains its two familiar faces: one model of this watch is equipped with a quasi-universal hemisphere lunar display (Ref. 5021), in which the miniature model of the Earth's satellite is pictured twice. Exactly as the phases of the moon appear when viewed from the northern or southern hemisphere – that is to say reversed. This distinctive optical feature has to do with the visual angle and the different point of observation. The number of days remaining until the next full moon can also be read precisely on a supplementary countdown scale in this model. The new Portuguese Perpetual Calendar in 18 carat red gold with hemisphere lunar display (Ref. 5021) differs from the previous rose gold model through the rather warmer hue of the case material. The second new model, the white gold variant with a midnight blue dial and silver-plated highlights, for example for the seconds subdial or on the moon disc, presents a particularly attractive side as regards colour. The simultaneous display of the two moons functions as follows: it is not the moon disc itself that moves, but an engraved disc representing the globe with two circular cut-outs set against a silver-coloured background, which carries two blue circular surfaces in a horizontal plane. In this way, the moon in the southern hemisphere is shown mirror-inverted or laterally reversed in relation to the moon in the northern hemisphere.

A second version of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar is available with the classic cut-out moon phase display when observed from the northern hemisphere (Ref. 5023). The Earth's satellite waxes onto this miniature stage from the left behind the semicircular setting becomes visible in the middle as a full moon and wanes on the right side behind the second semicircle. It is accompanied on the moon disc by small raised stars. The two new models with the representation of the moon behind a setting are now also housed in the 44.2-millimetre case of their sibling models (Ref. 5021). These are the variant in 18 carat red gold with a silver-plated dial, solid red gold appliqués and a red goldplated moon surrounded by small stars, and a highly discreet model in 18 carat white gold with rhodium-plated appliqués and a slate-coloured dial.

As far as the key astronomical indication of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, the moon, is concerned, it is able to match the precision of scientific instruments: in these watch models – and in these alone – the gearing has been modified, thanks to the available space, so as to permit the moon cycle to be displayed with unprecedented accuracy. A tiny residual error of 12 seconds per lunar period (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds) will add up to a deviation of just one day after 577 years. In other words: only the moon in the heavens is more accurate according to our current state of knowledge. And then only by a small margin.

Portuguese Perpetual Calendar

Ref. IW5021

Features

IWC-manufactured movement with Pellaton winding system and seven-day power reserve, perpetual calendar, perpetual moon phase display, hemisphere lunar display, four-digit year display, small hacking seconds, Breguet spring, rotor with 18 ct yellow gold medallion

Movement

Calibre 51614

Beats 21,600/h

Jewels 62

Power reserve 7 days (168 h)

Winding automatic

Case

Materials watch in 18 ct red gold with black dial and dark brown alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

watch in 18 ct white gold with midnight blue dial and black alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct white gold

Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 44.2mm

Height 15.5mm

The new sound from Schaffhausen

Portuguese Minute Repeater

The minute repeater mechanism from IWC Schaffhausen, which features in the Grande Complication and Portuguese Minute Repeater, is one of the most beautiful and exclusive horological complications. This model, which was launched in 2009, is stylistically consistent with its predecessors – the most noticeable difference being that the seconds display has moved from "9 o'clock" to "6 o'clock".

The minute repeater, which, because of its level of horological complexity, is built far less frequently today than the tourbillon, for example, is the most emotional of all the watch complications. Not only is it a feast for the eyes, but it is also music to the ears and penetrates directly into the realm of human feelings, where it strikes very archaic chords. Making the actual time audible and measurable once again, in the same way as the tower clocks with their striking mechanism, adds a quality to the perception of time beyond a fleeting or even lingering glance at the dial.

In the 1980s, when IWC Schaffhausen developed a minute repeater of its own for its Grande Complication model and invested many thousands of man-hours into this project, it not only arrived at a result that was technically outstanding in every respect, but it also acquired a taste for it. This acoustic work of art on the wrist, which, in response to a movement of the slide, chimes out the time accurately to the minute on two gongs with different pitches, has since been a permanent feature of its speciality watches.

IWC has developed and produced a considerable number of repeating mechanisms in the last two decades – for the Grande Complication, the Il Destriero Scafusia and for various limited series of repeating watches ( built since 1995 in the case of the Portuguese model. All were powered by the proven IWC 95290 calibre pocket watch movement. This is a very accurate, very traditional and very slim drive mechanism of the so-called Lépine type intended for openface pocket watches.

In the new Portuguese Minute Repeater, the case has grown by two millimetres to 44 millimetres, the height is now 14 millimetres, and the number of watches will be limited to 500 each in platinum and rose gold.

The Portuguese Minute Repeater has been given a larger case to accommodate a new drive mechanism. Once again, this is a hand-wound pocket watch movement – the 98950 calibre – of which the origins can be traced back to the 1920s and which has since been the subject of constant nurture, improvement and modernisation. It is a movement with real staying power, which has retained its virtues, but has also been enhanced with a few of the stylistic elements of the early Jones calibres: balance with high precision adjustment cam on the balance bars, Breguet balance spring, nickel-silver three-quarter bridge, long precision adjustment index and special decoration with gilt engraving.

To explain the small difference that is visible on the dial, involving the relocation of the seconds display from"9 o'clock" to "6 o'clock", a few horological details need to be added: the 98000 calibre family has always been a so-called Savonette or hunter movement, designed for pocket watches with a hinged cover. This means that the winding stem (crown) and the small seconds hand lie at an angle of 90 degrees in relation to one another. Conversely, in the Lépine style, which includes the 95 calibre family, the wheel train arrangement has the winding stem and the small seconds hand in a straight line. It actually makes sense for an open-face pocket watch to have the seconds display at "6 o'clock". This is a rather unusual position in a pocket watch for the wrist, which is viewed like a watch with a hinged cover, because the seconds display must then be positioned at "9  'clock". All previous Portuguese Minute Repeaters have featured and have been distinguishable by this minor eccentricity. Most wearers even find the unaccustomed arrangement charming. On the other hand, the present Portuguese Minute Repeater will appeal to lovers of the classic dial design.

Stylistically, the new Portuguese Minute Repeater is consistent with the previous models. The repeating mechanism, in which 205 individual parts act in concert as if in a mechanical orchestra, also remains largely the same. This strikes all the hours that have passed since the last twelve o'clock on its lower-pitched gong, the quarters that have passed since the last full hour as double strikes, and the minutes that have passed since the last quarter as strikes on the higher-pitched gong. It has an all-or-nothing mechanism, which ensures that the chiming sequence is only activated when the lateral repeating slide is depressed correctly. The repeating slide brings the horological exclusivity of this speciality watch to the notice of a connoisseur. The transparent sapphire glass back provides a view of the finely decorated movement, of which the balance oscillates at a rate of 18,000 beats per hour.

What watch lover has not dreamt about such a masterpiece from time to time? That is why IWC continues to hold onto this horological anachronism. Even if there is no longer any real "need" for it since the invention of the electric light and luminous hands.

Portuguese Minute Repeater

Ref. IW5449

Features

IWC minute repeater in a 44 millimetre diameter Portuguese case with a 98950 calibre mechanical movement, hand-wound, small hacking seconds, limited to 500 watches in platinum and 500 watches in 18 ct red gold

Movement

Calibre 98950

Beats 18,000/h

Jewels 52

Power reserve 46 h

Winding hand-wound

Case

Materials watch in 18 ct red gold with silver-plated dial and brown alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

watch in platinum with silver-plated dial and black alligator leather strap, folding clasp in platinum

Glass sapphire, arched edge, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Diameter 44mm

Height 14 mm

Success goes from

strength to strength

Portuguese Chronograph

For more than ten years, it has been the most desirable timepiece in the Portuguese family, a classic automatic chronograph in its purest form. Two new models of the Portuguese Chronograph in warm red gold now extend the established range.

This was the first Portuguese watch on which the time could not only be read, but also measured. For the first time, its newly designed case was also water-resistant to 3 bar. More than ten years ago, it already combined sporting appeal and high suitability for everyday use with the timeless elegance of the Portuguese design, making it a true classic whose success has continued unbroken for years. Because good taste is universal, regardless of country and culture, and whether the watch displays the time to a male or female wearer. With its moderate case size of 40.9 millimetres, it is also readily accommodated on the female wrist.

The Portuguese Chronograph – probably the most successful watch in the more recent history of IWC – has already been produced in various case materials and with different dial variants. It is a thoroughly accurate timepiece: beneath its convex sapphire glass, with antireflective coating on both sides, steps as small as one-eighth of a second can be recorded on the circumferential precision scale for short measured times using the seconds stop hand. The chronograph as a useful supplementary function is harmoniously integrated into the clear dial. The 30-minute counter and the small seconds subdial on the dial are recessed in the classic manner, and the Arabic numerals are fashioned and attached as appliqués. Even the small details also contribute to the well-balanced overall result: the feuille hands for the hours and minutes, themselves distinguishing features of the Portuguese watch, correspond to the functional ideal in terms of their length: the slim minute hand ends not just anywhere, but precisely on the circle of minute dot markers. A chunky crown and the characteristic chronograph buttons round off the image of consummate proportionality.

Two new variants in red gold cases now bring an even warmer hue and additional aesthetic refinement to the Portuguese model range with the familiar reference 3714. The latter is particularly true of the variant with the slate-coloured dial, to which the deep black colour of the subdials for the 30-minute counter of the chronograph and the small seconds impart a subtle contrast. Its hands are red gold-plated, and the appliqués are crafted from solid red gold. This model variant has already been available since the autumn of 2009. The second new variant in 18 carat red gold has a bright silver-plated dial with solid red gold appliqués and red gold-plated hands. The blued hands for displaying the times measured by the chronograph permit rapid identification of the associated functions – perfection lies in the detail. Even in their new guise, both of the new models with their slight penchant for understatement remain unmistakeable classics.

Portuguese Chronograph

Ref. IW3714

Features

Mechanical chronograph with automatic winding, 30-minute counter and small hacking seconds

Movement

Calibre 79350

Beats 28,800/h

Jewels 31

Power reserve 44 h

Winding automatic

Case

Materials watch in 18 ct red gold with slate-coloured dial and black alligator leather strap, pin buckle in 18 ct red gold

watch in 18 ct red gold with silver-plated dial and dark brown alligator leather strap, pin buckle in 18 ct red gold

Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 40.9mm

Height 12.3mm

Icons of good style

Portuguese Automatic

The Portuguese Automatic, whose timeless elegance is matched by its technical perfection, makes its grand entrance as a classic horological beauty. With outstanding mechanical features, including the Pellaton winding system, seven-day power reserve and date display, it demonstrates that  greatness is not only a question of diameter. Two new models, one in steel and one in red gold, enrich the elite society of these style icons.

The name of the Portuguese Automatic also comes to mind as a matter of course whenever the conversation turns to a globally accepted denomination of exquisite horological taste that is appreciated by connoisseurs. For this has not only been one of the most popular of all the Portuguese watches since 2004. It also conveys the story of the Portuguese, which, with its mythical roots, extends all the way back to the legendary Portuguese seafarers, authentically into the modern age.

The 50000-calibre family of large movements was developed specifically for the Portuguese Automatic to mark the change of the millennium – once again incorporating the Pellaton winding system after a long absence and a seven-day power reserve, originally intended for a limited collectors' series which immediately gained a large following. The new large-calibre movement from IWC was subsequently enhanced with a date display in order to make the Portuguese Automatic – introduced for the first time in 2004 – even better equipped for everyday use. Its dial is protected by a convex sapphire glass with an antireflective coating on both sides. With its moderate case diameter, it very soon found a place as a highly popular timepiece on both male and female wrists.

In spite of this technical modernization, the Portuguese Automatic continued to be the distinctive and elegant classic watch from a period which did not gainsay the influence of the pocket watch age, but had nevertheless finally bid farewell to the practice of wearing the personal timepiece on a chain. This can be appreciated from its narrow feuille hands, the Arabic numeral appliqués, the chapter ring in the railway-track style and, not least, the small seconds at "9 o'clock", opposite which the power reserve display at "3 o'clock" acts as a visual counterpart. The Portuguese Automatic represents equilibrium in its most attractive form and as such is the embodiment of an enduring style icon that remains untouched by passing trends. At the same time, as a reliable watch for everyday use, it is a symbol of the aspiration to technical perfection and the consistent implementation of horological advances over the last seventy years.

Any change or variation in this precious horological legacy will have been considered in the greatest detail. This also applies to the two newly launched model variants. The first novelty – already available since the autumn of 2009 – brings a trace of luxury to the previous steel models: the hands, numerals and hour indices above the silver-plated dial are plated with rosé gold – as they once were in earlier steel variants such as the anniversary Portuguese of 1993. The previous steel models, including the variant with dark appliqués and blued hands, remain an integral part of the collection. As the second novelty, the Portuguese Automatic is being produced for the first time in 18 carat red gold, which exhibits a noticeably warmer hue than the previously used rose gold. The appliqués on the silver-plated dial are also in 18 carat red gold. The case diameter (42.3 millimetres) and height (14 millimetres) remain unchanged compared with the previous models.

Portuguese Automatic

Ref. IW5001

Features

Mechanical movement with automatic Pellaton winding system and seven-day power reserve, date display, small hacking seconds, Breguet spring, rotor with 18 ct yellow gold medallion

Movement

Calibre 51011

Beats 21,600/h

Jewels 42

Power reserve 7 days (168 h)

Winding automatic

Case

Materials watch in stainless steel with silver-plated dial and black alligator leather strap, folding clasp in stainless steel

watch in 18 ct red gold with silver-plated dial and dark brown alligator leather strap, folding clasp in 18 ct red gold

Glass sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides

Back see-through sapphire-glass back

Water-resistant 3 bar

Diameter 42.3mm

Height 14mm