By Dhananjay Pathak
The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of IWC and the brand is celebrating this landmark in style by launching an entirely new collection of limited edition watches. The Jubilee collection as it is called comprises of several new intriguing watches falling under different sub-collections within the brand’s catalogue, but for now, we would be focusing on the Portugieser Constant-force tourbillon edition “150 years”. Featuring a new hand-wound movement with a 96-hour power reserve, a highly accurate moon phase display and a cutting-edge constant-force tourbillon, this watch certainly feels like a behemoth. So without further ado, let have a closer look.
There is no denying that the Portugieser collection from IWC comprises of some of the most elegant looking watches the brand produces and the Portugieser constant-force tourbillon is no exception. The first thing that strikes you about this watch is the little crowded but nicely executed white lacquered dial. Starting from the beautiful moon phase display at 1, to the retrograde style power reserve indicator between 4 and 5, and finally the constant-force tourbillon at 9, everything on this dial seems to have been thought out really well and well placed ensuring that the watch remains highly legible in spite of so much going on out there. Printed black Arabic numerals along with the railroad style minute track really pop against the white background and the thermally blued handset adds that extra bit of elegance to the dial.
This watch comes in a platinum case which is 46mm wide and has a height of 13.4mm. Looking at the dimensions of this case I would certainly agree that this a rather watch especially considering its dressy nature, but looking at the slew of complications being offered out here I somehow feel that the size is somewhat justified. Nevertheless, I will leave that for the audience to decide. Moving on, the dial side of this watch is topped with a sapphire crystal and there is also a sapphire crystal exhibition case back to admire the beautifully decorated movement that powers this watch.
This watch is powered by IWC’s newly created hand-wound calibre 94805 that combines a constant-force tourbillon along with a perpetual moon phase display that only needs to be adjusted by 1 day after 577.5 years. The patented constant-force mechanism transmits an even amount of energy to the escapement wheel and that along with the tourbillon helps in achieving a high level of accuracy. This movement is a feast for the eyes as it has been exceptionally decorated using Côtes de Genève, Blued screws and beveling on bridges. The movement operates at a frequency of 2.5 Hz offering a staggering power reserve of 96 hours and also bears a medallion highlighting the 150th anniversary of the brand.
In the end, I would like to say that the IWC Portugieser constant-force tourbillon is a true collector’s item that exhibits the high technical prowess of the brand. The watch would mated to a black alligator strap and would be limited to a production run of 15 pieces. The retail price of the watch is 255,000 EUR. iwc.com
