Luxury Swiss watchmaker, IWC was founded in 1868 by American watchmaker, Florentine Ariosto Jones. As director of E. Howard & Co in Boston, Jones wanted to combine Swiss craftsmanship with the modern engineering technology from the US so as to manufacture watch movements and other parts for the US market. It is located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and has been a subsidiary of Swiss Richemont Group since 2000.The company’s motto is “Probus Scafusia”, a Latin phrase translated to “good, solid, craftsmanship from Schaffhausen”.
Last week, Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC took the opportunity to introduce a platinum perpetual calendar limited edition to their distinguished Portugieser collection. IWC’s perpetual calendar mechanism was developed by Kurt Klaus in the 1980s, and even today it is considered by many to be a yardstick for technical elegance and simplicity. As you would expect, all of the perpetual calendar displays found on the dial are synchronised perfectly and can be advanced with a simple turn of the crown.
Click here to read our article on what a perpetual calendar watch is.
This limited edition is further enhanced by the presence of a double moonphase complication on the dial, and this shows a mirror image of the moon as seen by onlookers in both the northern and southern hemisphere. The moonphase function looks right at home on the silver-plated dial, which is further complemented by the case made of shimmering platinum. IWC has a long tradition of making platinum versions of its timepieces, including even their most robust tool watches, so perhaps it should come as no surprise to see this elegant Portugieser presented in the precious metal.
According to IWC’s website, the extremely durable platinum “is sure to be just as beautiful in 577.5 years: the time from now that will require the moonphase display to be adjusted”. The platinum case measures at 44.2mm in diameter, ensuring that the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Platinum will command a strong presence of the wearer’s wrist, and the watchmaker has finished the timepiece’s classic aesthetics with a tasteful black alligator leather strap by Italian fashion designer Santoni.
Powering the watch is the IWC Calibre 52615, which is an automatic, self-winding movement that allows for an impressive power reserve of 7 days (168 hours) with the help of an 18-carat gold rotor. The movement powers the wide variety of functions found on this Portugieser, including the time, small hacking seconds, perpetual calendar with day, date, month, phases of the moon in both hemispheres year, and power reserve indication displays.
The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Platinum (ref IW503406) is priced at around £40,000 and is a limited edition collection of 250 pieces.
Click here to visit our page on IWC Portugieser watches.
