IWC Portugaise Automatic IW500113

IWC celebrates its legendary Portuguese watches in 2010

The Schaffhausen watch manufacturer IWC is celebrating one of its oldest-established watch families in 2010: the Portuguese watches enter their eighth decade. This will be the occasion for some fascinating novelties, such as the Portuguese Grande Complication, the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde or the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph. These large format, mechanical precision instruments perpetuate the legacy of the famous seafarers to this day – and hand it down to today’s explorers.

“Heroes of the sea, noble race…”, runs the first line of the Portuguese national anthem. It is an expression of the collective memory, in which the great seafarers of Portugal are still very much alive to the present time – Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias or Fernando Magellan. And in 1934 Fernando Pessoa wrote his national epic “Mar Português – Portuguese Sea”, a homage to the spirit of discovery and heroic courage of the seafarers who made Portugal’s former international standing possible in the first place. Five years later, in 1939, IWC supplied the first Portuguese watches commissioned by two importers in Lisbon and Porto. These were oversized precision timepieces with pocket watch movements in the tradition of nautical instruments. They established a completely new type of watch in those days. Today these watches are a permanent feature of the horological identity of IWC and they are sought-after ambassadors of a watch culture at the highest level all over the world.

In 2010, the Portuguese watches from IWC are entering their eighth decade. They have remained entirely faithful to their historical heritage: clarity, size, accuracy and exquisite mechanics. Most of the complications from the Haute Horlogerie of IWC are present in this family of watches today. And there will be a few more in the “Year of the Portuguese”, which the Schaffhausen manufacturer is dedicating to its classic model. The horological inventiveness, which finds stylish expression in case diameters from more than 40 to 45 millimetres, is impressive.

Icons of good style

Portuguese Automatic

The Portuguese Automatic, whose timeless elegance is matched by its technical perfection, makes its grand entrance as a classic horological beauty. With outstanding mechanical features, including the Pellaton winding system, seven-day power reserve and date display, it demonstrates that greatness is not only a question of diameter. Two new models, one in steel and one in red gold, enrich the elite society of these style icons. The name of the Portuguese Automatic also comes to mind as a matter of course whenever the conversation turns to a globally accepted denomination of exquisite horological taste that is appreciated by connoisseurs. For this has not only been one of the most popular of all the Portuguese watches since 2004. It also conveys the story of the Portuguese, which, with its mythical roots, extends all the way back to the legendary Portuguese seafarers, authentically into the modern age.

The 50000-calibre family of large movements was developed specifically for the Portuguese Automatic to mark the change of the millennium – once again incorporating the Pellaton winding system after a long absence and a seven-day power reserve, originally intended for a limited collectors’ series which immediately gained a large following. The new large-calibre movement from IWC was subsequently enhanced with a date display in order to make the Portuguese Automatic – introduced for the first time in 2004 – even better equipped for everyday use. Its dial is protected by a convex sapphire glass with an antireflective coating on both sides. With its moderate case diameter, it very soon found a place as a highly popular timepiece on both male and female wrists.

In spite of this technical modernization, the Portuguese Automatic continued to be the distinctive and elegant classic watch from a period which did not gainsay the influence of the pocket watch age, but had nevertheless finally bid farewell to the practice of wearing the personal timepiece on a chain. This can be appreciated from its narrow feuille hands, the Arabic numeral appliqués, the chapter ring in the railway-track style and, not least, the small seconds at “9 o’clock”, opposite which the power reserve display at “3 o’clock” acts as a visual counterpart. The Portuguese Automatic represents equilibrium in its most attractive form and as such is the embodiment of an enduring style icon that remains untouched by passing trends. At the same time, as a reliable watch for everyday use, it is a symbol of the aspiration to technical perfection and the consistent implementation of horological advances over the last seventy years.

Any change or variation in this precious horological legacy will have been considered in the greatest detail. This also applies to the two newly launched model variants. The first novelty – already available since the autumn of 2009 – brings a trace of luxury to the previous steel models: the hands, numerals and hour indices above the silver-plated dial are plated with rosé gold – as they once were in earlier steel variants such as the anniversary Portuguese of 1993. The previous steel models, including the variant with dark appliqués and blued hands, remain an integral part of the collection. As the second novelty, the Portuguese Automatic is being produced for the first time in 18 carat red gold, which exhibits a noticeably warmer hue than the previously used rose gold. The appliqués on the silver-plated dial are also in 18 carat red gold. The case diameter (42.3 millimetres) and height (14 millimetres) remain unchanged compared with the previous models.