In recent years, IWC has become inextricably linked to its tool watches, whether it’s the plethora of pilot’s watches on offer or the recently revived Ingenieur. This year, the Schaffhausen-based manufacture is showcasing its duality of character, placing its Portugieser collection front and centre. Paying homage to the passing of time, IWC quite literally proves the classics are (almost) timeless, with the Portugieser Eternal Calendar featuring a moonphase that only requires adjustment once every 45 million years. Meanwhile, classic Portugieser Automatic models get sleek new updates, while a hand-wound tourbillon threatens to steal the show. Herewith, all the IWC new releases from Watches & Wonders 2024.
Portugieser Eternal Calendar
- A (big) step up from a perpetual calendar, the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar is powered by a movement with a new 400-year gear, taking into account the Gregorian calendar’s leap year exceptions by skipping three leap years over 400 years. It will be accurate until 3999 at the earliest
- Additionally, the moonphase is so accurate it will only require an adjustment once every 45 million years. See you in 45,002,024
- Encased in a 44.4mm platinum case, it’s powered by an in-house automatic movement with a seven-day power reserve
Model: Portugieser Eternal Calendar (IW505701)
Case size: 44.4mm
Movement: 52640 (automatic)
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve, perpetual calendar (day, date, month, year)
Power reserve: 7 days
Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night
- A flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock shares the spotlight with a day/night indicator with a small globe at 9 o’clock that performs one rotation every 24 hours
- An 18-carat gold (IWC’s Armor Gold) case is complemented by a black obsidian dial, with the timepiece presented on a black alligator leather strap crafted by renowned Italian shoemaker Santoni
- The in-house manually wound calibre 81925 features côtes de Genève decoration and is visible through the exhibition caseback
Model: Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (IW545901)
Case size: 42.4mm
Movement: 81925 (manually wound)
Functions: hours, minutes, day/night indicator
Power reserve: 84 hours
Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44
- The new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 receives an elegant case redesign, with a slimmer casing ring and reowkred construction. As a result, it wears slightly smaller than its 44.4mm diameter suggests
- Powered by the in-house automatic calibre 52616 with Pellaton winding system, it has a power reserve of seven days
- It’s available in four variants; 18-carat white gold with a blue or sand dial, or 18-carat Armor Gold with a black or silvery white dial
Model: Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (IW503701, IW503702, IW503703, IW503704)
Case size: 44.4mm
Movement: 52616 (automatic)
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, perpetual calendar
Power reserve: 7 days
Portugieser Automatic 42
- IWC adds six new references to the Portugieser Automatic 42 collection, spanning five dials across three case metals (steel, rose gold, and white gold)
- It features slimmer case construction and double-box sapphire crystals, and is powered by the in-house automatic calibre 52011, which has a seven-day power reserve and features in many of the manufacture’s Big Pilot watches
- The subdial at 3 o’clock is a power reserve indicator while a small seconds subdial features at 9 o’clock
Model: Portugieser Automatic 42 (IW501701, IW501702, IW501704, IW501705, IW501707, IW501708)
Case size: 42.4mm
Movement: 520111 (automatic)
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, date
Power reserve: 7 days
Portugieser Automatic 40
- The IWC Portugieser Automatic 40 has also been subtly reworked with slimmer case construction and double-box sapphire crystals
- The clean dial is emblematic of the archetypal Portugieser design, nodding to the archival ref. 325 from 1939
- It’s powered by the in-house automatic calibre 82200 with a 60-hour power reserve and available in 18-carat white gold with blue dial or 18-carat rose gold with black dial
Model: Portugieser Automatic 40 (IW358401, IW358402)
Case size: 40.4mm
Movement: 82200
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
Power reserve: 60 hours
Portugieser Chronograph
- The Portugieser Chronograph collection receives three new references; steel/sand, rose gold/obsidian, white gold/blue
- The white gold and horizon blue reference is a the undeniable showstopper, with the striking shade featuring across several of the models in the Portugieser range
- It’s powered by the in-house automatic calibre 69355, a column-wheel movement. The Portugieser Chronograph is distinguished by its vertically arranged subdials which make it easier to read
Model: Portugieser Chronograph (IW371624, IW371625, IW371626)
Case size: 41mm
Movement: 69355 (automatic)
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph
Power reserve: 46 hours
Albert Review will be covering Watches & Wonders 2024 as it unfolds. For more novelties, horological news, and new releases, check out our Watches & Wonders coverage here.
Words by AR Staff
