This watch is one of the two new products in this year’s Portugieser collection by IWC Schaffhausen (the other is the Portugieser Annual Calendar). It is the outcome of a lot of design thought, with the most important information – time functions, date and month, chronograph time – displayed as clearly as possible in the top part of the dial. It shows the date and month digitally, and has chronograph minutes and hours on a single subdial at the 12 o’clock position, with blued steel hands; the chronograph centre-sweep seconds hand is the same colour. The chronograph has the flyback function, for instant resetting and restarting. The leap year cycle is shown on the subdial at 6 o’clock, which also shows continuous seconds, with stop-second function for easy synchronisation. All calendar adjustments are set using the crown. The chronograph could be used as a second time zone indicator: in this case it would have to be started at exactly midnight or midday for the second time zone.
In-house movement
The watch is powered by the in-house 89801 calibre movement, developed over the space of 4 years. In includes the efficient double-pawl winding system conveying both directions of oscillating weight movement to the barrel. The movement includes an accumulator of energy that absorbs a small quantity of energy at the date change every night, releasing it at the end of the month when the date and month discs change together, along with (at the end of the year) the year disc. The movement comprises 474 components, and has a power reserve of 68 hours. Frequency 28,800 vph/4 Hertz.
Details
The case is 45 millimetres in diameter, 16.5 mm thick, water resistance 30 m. The watch is available in three versions:
IW397201, platinum case, silver-plated dial, black alligator strap by Santoni, limited edition of 25 watches, £46,900
IW397202, red gold case, black dial, brown alligator strap by Santoni, limited edition of 75 watches, £36,900
IW397203, red gold case, silver-plated dial, brown alligator strap by Santoni, limited edition of 75 watches, £36,900
All the watches are already available in IWC boutiques.
