This is a classic Portugieser in every way. A comparison with the 1942 Portugieser Reference 325 (on the left in the photo below) shows that while the design of the numerals, logo and chapter ring has changed, the overall layout is very similar. The 2015 Portugieser Minute Repeater, reference IW5449, is made in two versions,…
As you can see from a comparison (above, the 2015 version on the left, the 2010 version on the right), the new reference IW3776 presented at SIHH in January by IWC Schaffhausen is not all that different from the previous version. The movement is the same 79091 calibre used in the 2010 Reference IW3774. The…
One day, a manufacturer like IWC will make a watch that is truly double-sided, one that you can wear with either the dial side or the movement side upwards. This is a piece that looks superb from both sides, and it would just take an extra pair of hands on the movement side and swivelling…
Today, IWC can look back over 150 years of history, from its privileged position as a brand with a powerful image and identity. But, as often happens in watchmaking, the IWC story is long and complex, with several changes in ownership, economic crises and brilliant turnarounds. Company profile: IWC began with an American, a watchmaker…
Not long now to SIHH, the watch fair grouping 16 brands, starting on 19 January in Geneva. It’s the first watch show of the year and so provides an indication of the latest trends. Some of the things that visitors will be wondering include the effects that the recent Swiss franc currency variation will have…
IWC love springing surprises. In a preview presentation of the new watches to be presented at SIHH beginning on 18 January 2015 in Geneva, the brand has presented a new watch, and announced that the Portuguese family will change name to Portugieser. This was in fact the name (Portuguese in German) given to the family…
To celebrate the opening of their first UK boutique, at 138 New Bond Street in London, IWC have introduced the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar London Edition, reference IW502805, limited to 38 pieces. The watch is available exclusively from the IWC London boutique, tel. +44 (0)203 618 3900. The watch is in stainless steel, and…
Apart from gold, silver, steel, titanium, aluminium, mother-of-pearl and precious stones, some watch brands feature materials that on the face of it don’t seem to have much to do with watchmaking. Usually the strange materials are included to provide a new talking-point and a theme that can be used for marketing the watch. Often the…
In the vast range of watches, one of the things that you can choose is how many hands it has. From the serene simplicity of just a single hand to the complications with ten or more, here is a quick journey with a selection of watches in order of number of hands. This also reflects…
With their latest model in the Pilot’s Watch family, IWC Schaffhausen continue their series of watches that are tributes to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince,” reference IW500908, confirms IWC’s status as one of the few high-end brands still making watches that recall the German wartime B-Uhr watches that have…
The people at IWC certainly know how to keep a secret. Forever IWC Schaffhausen has been a men’s brand. The news that they are making watches for women, announced today, 29 September 2014, comes as much as a surprise as George Clooney getting married to Amal Alamuddin at just about the same time. Up until…
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton presented their own special-edition watches by IWC Schaffhausen, with each edition limited to 250. IWC have a partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, in an agreement that has been renewed until 2018. Not surprisingly, both watches are chronographs in the Ingenieur range, presented at…
This article on the best perpetual calendar watches 2015 look at these challenging timepieces, which require a lot of movement development. A lot of information has to be displayed, and at certain moments, a lot of energy has to be available to change several indications at once. For example, at midnight on 31st December, day,…
The IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition JU-Air. Occasionally in the skies of Europe, you see a large, slow, three-engined aircraft with a corrugated-steel fuselage, usually flying low, and with three letters painted large on one wing: IWC. It’s a Ju-52, a German aircraft whose long history earnt it a reputation similar to that of…