IWC Makes Big Moves With Portugieser Series At Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024

By Nancy Olson

IWC has some intriguing timepieces unveiling at this year’s Watches and Wonders, with updated materials and fresh colors slated for its popular Portugieser collection. Though its origins date to the late 1930s when it was first introduced as a high-precision pocket watch with a large case, the Portugieser has maintained its relevance through the years while never losing sight of what first defined it. A generous case and an easy-to-read dial never go out of style, but masterful tweaks keep things interesting over the long haul.

Over the years, IWC has created many Portugieser watches with high complications, with the Portugieser Sidérale Scafusia being the  most complicated watch from the band. Now, we witness new colors, movements and iterations designed to win hearts.

Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night

Yes, tourbillons have a charm all their own. But equally engaging is the planet-shaped sphere at 9 o’clock on the new Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night, which rotates once every 24 hours and has a dark side and a bright side to indicate the stretch of day. The celestial tableau is visible from both the dial side and the movement side of the watch, thanks to a see-through caseback that showcases the newly developed hand-wound Caliber 81925 with 84 hours of power reserve.

The 42.4mm case is crafted in Armor Gold, a proprietary alloy, which is a nice foil for the Obsidian black lacquer dial and Santoni-sourced black leather strap. It should be noted that the mechanical movement is a flying hacking minute tourbillon(at 6:00) in addition to the day/night indication at 9:00.

Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44

Perpetual calendars make me weak in the knees—probably because their often-straightforward looks belie the watchmaking know-how necessary to make them work.  The new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 is no exception.

IWC launched its first Portugieser with a perpetual calendar in 2003, and since then it has been ceaselessly refined. This year the company is debuting a completely reworked model in four new 44.4mm versions, each powered by the sophisticated automatic caliber 52616 with seven days of power reserve. The first features a white gold case and Horizon blue dial. The second is also white gold, this time with a Dune-colored dial. An Armor Gold case and an Obsidian black dial combine to create the third, while the fourth model, also in Armor Gold, is fitted with a silver-plated dial.

The most notable aesthetic update of the new models is the case construction, which includes a slimmer profile and a double-box sapphire crystal. The dial graphics have also been enhanced, and all four watch variations include IWC’s signature Double Moon display that will only deviate from the moon’s actual orbit by one day after 577.7 years.

Portugieser Automatic

IWC is introducing re-engineered cases featuring a more slender—and more elegant, I think—profile on these 42.4mm and 40.4mm Automatic models. With double box-glass sapphire crystals, the elaborately finished dials are splendidly evident. So, too, the larger aperture sapphire crystal on the caseback draws attention to the IWC-manufactured movement inside.

The 42.4mm version offers six references: one in white gold with a Horizon blue dial; another in 5N gold, whose rosy hue is perfectly complemented by an Obsidian black dial; and three variations in stainless steel with dials in either Dune, blue, or silver plate. Each watch is powered by the automatic 52011 movement with seven days of power reserve.

The 40.4mm version comprises two references, one in white gold with a Horizon Blue dial, and the other in 5N gold with an Obsidian black dial. They are powered by the automatic 82200 movement with 60 hours of power reserve.