SIHH 2015 Preview: IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic

The Schaffhausen-based manufacture IWC will introduce a new addition to its elegant Portofino collection at SIHH 2015 in January. The IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic has a simple, understated display and a long-running in-house caliber.

The IWC Portofino family has a quiet dial layout, and the Pure Classic shows it at its most legible and direct. The dial features simple, gold-plated hour markers with Roman numerals at 12 and 6. A minutes scale runs along the outside of the dial. The hour and minutes hands are also plated in rose gold, and the dial itself is silver plated. Above it, the sapphire crystal is nonreflective and has an arched edge.

Although the dial does not reveal it, the Pure Classic has an impressive power reserve of 192 hours. If you’re looking for the power-reserve indicator, you must turn the watch over: you can watch the full eight days tick down via a display seen through the sapphire crystal caseback. Also visible through the back are the two large bridges, which are decorated with côtes de Genève. These bridges conceal most of the movement’s inner workings but still provide a view of the balance wheel.

The Pure Classic uses IWC’s Caliber 59060, which beats at 28,800 vph and runs in 30 jewels. The balance is adjusted via four gold screws. The balance spring has a Breguet terminal curve. IWC first introduced the manual-winding 59000 series, with its 8-day power reserve, in 2011. The IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic has a rose-gold case with a diameter of 43.5 mm. It is 12 mm thick. It comes on a brown alligator leather strap with a pin buckle. All straps for the Portofino Hand-Wound collection are made by the Italian haut de gamme shoemaker Santoni. They have a distinctive orange leather lining.

IWC’s Portofino family dates back to the late 1970s. Since then, it has expanded to include a number of complications, including moon-phase and, last year, big date. The Pure Classic shown here, in rose gold, costs $19,900. In addition, there is a stainless-steel version on a black strap. It costs $10,400. The Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic will be available through IWC boutiques.