IWC Portugaise Grande Complication IW377601

PORTUGUESE GRANDE COMPLICATION

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Portuguese watch family, the Portuguese Grande Complication appears with a number of understated modifications. The dial is more elegant and restrained, and the platinum version has a new contemporary look. This superb example of watchmaking technology with its 20 displays and functions remains a milestone of haute horlogerie.

Being referred to as a “Grande Complication” is the greatest accolade any mechanical wristwatch can aspire to. It is an
honour reserved for only the most complex of all mechanical timepieces. The Portuguese Grande Complication (Ref. 3776) has a dazzling array of technical features and a total of 20 different displays and functions. The case contains 659 mechanical components which ensure that all 20 work in perfect harmony. Apart from the time and chronograph functions, a perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year, decade and century as well as a perpetual moon phase are included. Rounding it off is the supreme achievement in the art of mechanical watchmaking:  the minute repeater.

In the Portuguese’s anniversary year, the Grande Complication­ has­ under gone­ several­ conservative­ design­ modifications which further enhance the value of the model. The silver-plated dial, for instance, no longer features an engraving of the globe showing the lines of latitude and longitude. Because of this, it appears more composed, and the typical characteristics of the Portuguese – feuille hands, appliquéd Arabic numerals and railway-track-style chapter ring – are set off to better advantage. In the new collection, the case back is decorated with an engraved compass rose. The newly designed ergonomic strap horns are closer  to the wrist and make the watch more comfortable to wear, even on a slimmer wrist. The watch is supplied with a Santoni alligator leather strap; the strap on the 18-carat red gold version is stitched with red gold thread while the strap on the exclusive platinum model is finished with a platinum thread. Both versions are limited to 250 watches.

BEAUTIFULLY COMPLICATED

Between 1983 and 1985, master watchmaker Kurt Klaus designed and built the perpetual calendar for IWC Schaff-
hausen.­ Many­ of­ its­ technical­ specifications­ have­ remained­ unsurpassed to this day. The fact alone that the perpetual
calendar is mechanically programmed until 2499 and masters the vagaries of the Gregorian calendar is awe-inspiring.
During this time, the calendar will require correction on just three occasions (in 2100, 2200 and 2300), when the leap
day that would normally occur is omitted. What is more, the­ perpetual­ calendar­ has­ its­ own­ program­ to­ fulfil,­ and­ unlike the time display, does not need to be driven continuously. Instead of this, it is given a mechanical impulse that advances it between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. This tiny movement­ in­ the­ date­ advance­ lever­ is­ ultimately­ sufficient­ to­ set­ all the other calendar functions in motion, but at least, on any given day, the date, day of the week and moon phase.

During the calendar’s most active phase, these are joined by the month, year, decade and century. In 100 years, the
century­ slide,­ which­ shows­ the­ first­ two­ of­ the­ four­ digits­ that comprise the year, moves up once, by 1.2 millimetres.
This will happen next in 2100. Most of the people who will experience this particular event have yet to be born. The moon phase display, too, is extraordinarily accurate and will be just 1 day out of sync after 122 years. Despite its complex design and numerous functions, the perpetual calendar is operated simply, via the crown.

The incredibly complex minute repeating strike train chimes out the current time in clear acoustic tones: with lower
chimes for the hours, a double strike – one on each gong – for the quarter-hours and a strike on the higher-pitched gong for the minutes. Each gong is individually made by hand and then carefully tuned for pitch and tonal purity. Development of the minute repeater alone took a total of 50,000 hours.

In the Portuguese Grande Complication, time is more than simply a quantity to be measured: time is also rhythm, as expressed by the return of the leap years, the waxing and waning of the moon or the melodious tones of the minute repeater. The Portuguese Grande Complication transforms the abstract notion of time into a sensory experience. And as complicated as it may be, the secret of its success is quite simple: it is among the best mechanical timepieces in the world.