IWC Schaffhausen is relaunching its entire Portugieser collection and adds three new dial colors at Watches & Wonders 2024. Hit the play button for a quick introduction:
The horological headliner is undoubtedly the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar (Ref. IW505701), a watch that can calculate leap years correctly until at least the year 3999 (sinceit has not yet been officially decided whether the year 4000 will be a leap year or not).
A newly engineered 400-years gear ensures that the calendar automatically skips three leap years over four centuries – an event which will occur for the first time in the year 2100. Another key feature of this new watch is the extremely precise moon phase display: Thanks to a newly developed reduction gear, the brand’s typical Double Moon phase display will only deviate from the moon’s orbit by one day after 45 million years.
The Portugieser Eternal Calendar features a 44.4-mm platinum case. The extensive use of glass elements such as a glass dial and double box-glass sapphire crystals help to better showcase the mechanism. Movement inside is the newly developed IWC-manufactured 52640 caliber, which features the brand’s Pellaton winding system and builds up a power reserve of seven days (168 hours) in the two barrels. Parts of the winding system that are subject to extremely high stresses are manufactured using zirconium oxide ceramic. Like all new Portugieser models, the Portugieser Eternal Calendar is fitted with a finely crafted curved leather strap from Santoni, a renowned Italian manufacturer of luxury shoes and leather accessories.
“With the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar, we now venture further than ever before, touching the limits of eternity. Our first secular perpetual calendar automatically takes into account the Gregorian calendar’s complex leap-year exception rules by skipping the leap year three times over 400 years. True to the spirit of engineers who are always pushing the boundaries, we have also fitted this technical marvel with a moon phase display that will only deviate from the moon’s orbit by one day after 45 million years.”
Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen
Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44
IWC is also launching the completely re-engineered Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 at Watches and Wonders in Geneva. Available in four versions, the case construction has been fully reworked and refined with a more slender case ring, combined with the use of double box-glass sapphire crystals on the front and the back. All models are powered by the IWC-manufactured 52616 caliber with a Pellaton winding system and a power reserve of seven days. The calendar is mechanically programmed for a cycle of four years. In addition to recognizing the different lengths of the months, it automatically inserts a leap day every four years at the end of February. The mechanical program only requires a minor adjustment in centuries divisible by 100 when the leap year is skipped, for example, in 2100 or 2200.
The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (Ref. IW503703) features an 18-carat white gold case, a Horizon blue dial, and rhodium-plated hands and appliques. It is fitted with a gradient light-blue calfskin strap from Santoni. The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (Ref. IW503704) has an 18-carat white gold case, a Dune colored dial, and gold-plated hands, and gold appliques. It is combined with a black alligator leather strap from Santoni. The Ref. IW503702 boasts a case made of 18-carat Armor Gold, an Obsidian black dial, gold-plated hands, and gold appliques. According to IWC, Armor Gold is considerably harder and more wear-resistant than conventional 5N gold, thanks to an improved microstructure.
This model is fitted with a black alligator leather strap from Santoni. Ref. IW503701 comes with an 18-carat Armor Gold case, a silverplated dial, gold-plated hands, and gold appliques. This fourth watch is fitted with a brown alligator leather strap, also provided from Santoni.
Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night
The 42.4-mm Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (Ref. IW545901) comes with a polished and brushed 18-carat Armor Gold case, gold-plated hands, and gold appliques. The flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock consists of 56 individual parts, weighing 0.675 grams in total. The pallet lever and escape wheel are made of silicon and treated with a special diamond coating.
This Diamond Shell technology reduces friction and improves the flow of energy in the movement (Cal. 81925), contributing to the movement’s power reserve of 84 hours. Thanks to the integrated tourbillon stop, the mechanism can be brought to a complete stop and the watch therefore set with down-to-the-second accuracy.
Portugieser Automatic 42 and Portugieser Automatic 40
These watches, too, feature a completely re-engineered case construction with a slender side profile and double box-glass sapphire crystals. Larger aperture sapphire crystals on the back showcase the IWC-manufactured movements from the 52000 and 82000 caliber families, both featuring Pellaton winding systems with ceramic components. The new design codes with the dial colors Horizon Blue, Obsidian, and Dune are also available here for selected models. The Portugieser Automatic, which not only launched the Portugieser into the new millennia, but also introduced the brand’s automatic movement with 7-day power reserve in 2000, has the power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock and the small seconds at 9 o’clock.
First introduced to the collection in 2020, the Portugieser Automatic 40 (Ref. IW3584) offers a more compact case size of 40 millimeters and a dial with the small seconds at 6 o’clock and no date window. Both models (Ref. IW358401 with 18-carat 5N gold case and IW358402 with 18-carat white gold case) are powered by the IWC-manufactured 82200 caliber with some parts made of zirconium oxide ceramic. The automatic Pellaton winding system builds up a power reserve of 60 hours.
Portugieser Chronograph
The three new dial colors, Horizon blue, Obsidian, and Dune, can also be found in the 41-mm chronograph model. The first watch (Ref. IW371626) features a Horizon blue dial in combination with an 18-carat white gold case and a blue calfskin strap. The second boasts an Obsidian dial (Ref. IW371625), an 18-carat 5N gold case, and a black alligator leather strap from Santoni.
The third addition (Ref. IW371624) comes with a Dune colored dial, a stainless steel case, and a black alligator leather strap. The models are powered by IWC’s 69355 caliber with column-wheel and 46-hour power reserve.
Hands-On Photos:
Specs
| Model: | Automatic 40 | Automatic 42 | Chronograph 44 | Perpetual Calendar 44 | Tourbillon | Eternal Calendar |
| Movement: | 82200 | 52011 | 69355 | 52616 | 81925 | 52640 |
| Winding: | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Manual | Automatic |
| Power Reserve: | 60 h | 168 h | 46 h | 168 h | 84 h | 168 h |
| Diameter: | 40.4 mm | 42.4 mm | 41.0 mm | 44.4 mm | 42.4 mm | 44.4 mm |
| Height: | 12.4 mm | 13.0 mm | 13.1 mm | 14.9 mm | 10.8 mm | 15.0 mm |
| Case Material(s): | White Gold / 5N Gold | White Gold / 5N Gold / Stainless Steel | White Gold / 5N Gold / Stainless Steel | White Gold / 5N Armor Gold | Armor Gold | Platinum |
| Water Resistance: | 5 bar | 5 bar | 3 bar | 5 bar | 6 bar | 5 bar |
| Price: | from 18,500 | from $13,500 | from $8,400 | from $46,500 | $79,300 | n.a. |
