IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night IW545901

Schaffhausen/Geneva, 9th April 2024: IWC Schaffhausen introduces the Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night at Watches and Wonders Geneva. It combines an 18-carat Armor Gold® case with an Obsidian lacquered dial and gold-plated hands and gold appliques. The flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock consists of 56 parts and weighs only 0.675 grams. Another highlight is the innovative day and night display, which shows the eternal cycle of day and night with the help of a small sphere rotating around its axis. The globe-shaped day and night indicator is visible both from the dial and the movement side. The hand-wound IWC-manufactured 81925 calibre with gold-plated components can be admired through the sapphire glass case back.

The Portugieser stands out not only because of its pure and timeless design. The collection is also a testament to IWC Schaffhausen’s comprehensive expertise in fine watchmaking. Over the years, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer has presented many Portugieser watches with high complications, ranging from different versions of its perpetual calendar and tourbillons to the astronomical displays of the Portugieser Sidérale Scafusia – to this day the most complicated watch ever made by IWC Schaffhausen. With its unique engineering approach to fine watchmaking, IWC develops complications that are ingenious, highly robust and reliable, and technically elegant in their design.

Adding to its legacy of high complications, IWC presents the Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (Ref. IW545901) with a polished and brushed 18-carat Armor Gold® case, gold-plated hands, and gold appliques. Thanks to its improved microstructure, Armor Gold® is significantly harder and more wear- resistant than conventional 5N gold. The Obsidian black and highly polished dial radiates a tremendous depth and creates a beautiful contrast. The watch is fitted with a finely crafted curved black alligator leather strap from Santoni, a renowned Italian manufacturer of luxury shoes and leather accessories. The flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock is one of the most sophisticated complications in watchmaking. Assembling and fine- tuning this delicate mechanism is a task reserved for the most experienced master watchmakers at IWC Schaffhausen. The tourbillon places the balance wheel and pallet lever inside a small cage that rotates around its axis once every minute. This constant rotation reduces the influence of gravity on the oscillating system of the watch, thereby increasing its accuracy. As the tourbillon cage is stopped and accelerated several times per second, its total weight must be as low as possible. Although the mechanism consists of 56 individual parts, it only weighs 0.675 grams in total. The pallet lever and escape wheel are made of silicon and treated with a special diamond coating. This Diamond Shell® technology reduces friction and improves the flow of energy in the movement, contributing to the high power reserve of 84 hours. Thanks to the integrated tourbillon stop, the mechanism can be brought to a complete stop and the watch set with down-to-the-second accuracy.

A UNIQUE WAY TO SHOW THE ENDLESS CYCLE OF DAY AND NIGHT

Another highlight can be found at 9 o’clock: the 24-hour indication in the shape of a small planet. The globe has a dark and a bright side and rotates around its axis once every 24 hours, offering a captivating visualisation of whether it is currently day or night. The idea for this special day and night concept came from former watchmaker trainee Loris Spitzer and is a testament to the success of IWC’s trainee program and the culture of curiosity and innovation that the company fosters. The day and night indication is integrated into the newly developed IWC- manufactured 81925 calibre. As the movement is hand- wound and has no oscillating mass, the small globe is visible from the front and back. The gold-plated base plate is partly skeletonised to offer an unimpeded view of the barrel and other components. The movement is elaborately finished with circular Geneva stripes and can be admired through the sapphire glass case back.