Swiss manufacture IWC Schaffhausen recently unveiled its new Portugieser collection including the Eternal Calendar.
The new collection is themed A Tribute to Eternity – a nod to IWC’s latest feat of engineering and a reference to the timeless character of the model which was first created in the late 1930s. Inspired by a nautical deck watch used for navigation, the DNA of a highly precise and easily legible instrument has resulted in a timeless design that remains incredibly fresh and modern today. For the new collection, IWC has reworked selected models and perfected them to the smallest detail. Four new colours are available – Horizon Blue, Dune, Obsidian and Silver Moon, each a reference to the skies.
THE 2024 PORTUGIESER COLLECTION
The Portugieser Eternal Calendar (Ref. IW505701) is the first secular perpetual calendar developed by IWC Schaffhausen. It automatically recognises the different lengths of the months and adds a leap day every four years. Thanks to a new 400-year gear, it also considers the Gregorian calendar’s leap year exceptions by skipping three leap years over 400 years. In addition, its moon phase is so accurate that it will – theoretically – only deviate by one day after 45 million years!
The Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (Ref. IW545901) features a flying minute tourbillon at six o’clock and a day and night indication with a small globe, which rotates around its axis every 24 hours. Featuring an 18-carat Armor Gold case and Obsidian dial, the watch is powered by the IWC manufactured 81925 calibre with manual winding.
The new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (Ref. IW5037) features a completely re-engineered case construction with a slimmer casing ring. Box-shaped glasses on the front and back showcase the intricately crafted dials and the IWC-manufactured 52616 calibre, which features a Pellaton winding system with ceramic components and offers a power reserve of seven days.
The new Portugieser Automatic 42 (Ref. IW5017) impresses with a new case construction with a slimmer casing ring and double box-glass sapphire crystals. At work inside is the IWC-manufactured 520111 calibre with Pellaton winding, ceramic components and a seven-day power reserve.
The Portugieser Automatic 40 (Ref. IW3584) has also been reworked with a slimmer case and double boxglass sapphire crystals. With its clean and open dial, it represents the essence of the timeless Portugieser design and stands in direct lineage to the original Reference 325 from 1939. It runs on the IWC-manufactured 82200 calibre with Pellaton winding, ceramic components and 60 hours of power.
Having formed a major pillar of the Portugieser collection since 1998, the Portugieser Chronograph (Ref. 3716) launches in three new versions in 18-carat white gold, 18-carat 5N gold or stainless steel. Powered by the IWC-manufactured 69355 calibre, the chronograph is distinguished by its easy-to-read dial with the vertically arranged totalisers.