Time and Tide Watches

Australian Watch Authority

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Reviews
  • Watch Fairs
    • Baselworld 2019
    • SIHH 2019
    • Baselworld 2018
    • SIHH 2018
    • Baselworld 2017
    • SIHH 2017
  • Club
  • Partners

25.11.2020
Nick Kenyon

HANDS-ON: The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition would make Kurt Klaus smile

The perpetual calendar is widely recognised as one of IWC’s greatest strengths. Back in the 1980s, legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus was challenged to develop a new version of this highly intricate mechanism. He responded with an ingenious upgrade that essentially streamlined the complication by doing away with the correctors and enabling the calendar functions to be manipulated via the crown. The new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition offers an even more refined expression of this idea to deliver a simple solution to a complicated problem. Just like Kurt Klaus would have wanted.

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition

The case

As the name suggests, the case of this latest perpetual calendar measures 42mm in diameter and sits a modest 13.8mm off the wrist. It’s by no means a petite watch, but is remarkably compact if you consider the level of complication on offer. The compact case proportions are an exciting step by IWC to produce slightly smaller perpetual calendar watches and make them more accessible in the process. The lugs are elegantly tapered to ensure the more modest specifications on paper match what you are feeling on your wrist. It’s not too big and not too small – the stuff of Goldilocks’ dreams.

IWC Portugieser 2020 Collection

The case is made from IWC’s own 5N gold, a moniker that mightn’t mean much without a jewellery qualification, but is essentially a warmer tone of rose gold thanks to less silver and more copper in the alloy. In addition to being a darker, almost reddish hue, 5N gold is also harder than traditional rose gold, making it more resistant to scratches and dents. Water resistant to 30m, it also features a sapphire crystal caseback in order to view the movement.

The dial

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition

IWC saves this particular shade of blue dial for their boutique-only editions, and you can see why. It contrasts wonderfully against the 5N gold case, hands and hour markers, and also provides a dusk-like backdrop to the double moonphase at 6 o’clock. The array of complications that you see on the dial are neatly balanced across three sub-dials that communicate the date, day, month, leap year and phases of the moon for northern and southern hemispheres, as well as the time. There’s a lot going on, but everything is neatly legible and easy to understand. The printed minute track around the circumference of the dial is interrupted only by applied hour markers that are emphasised by the Arabic numerals they correspond to.

The movement

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition

Tucked away beneath that special blue dial is IWC’s own automatic Caliber 82650, visible thanks to the exhibition caseback. Beneath the skeletonised winding rotor is the movement that contains 362 components and ticks away at 4Hz. It boasts a handy 60 hours of power reserve, in part made possible due to the highly efficient bidirectional Pellaton pawl winding system that uses zirconium oxide ceramic components that are virtually resistant to wear. In a nod to the genius of Kurt Klaus, the entire calendar is able to be set through the crown, a feat of mechanical engineering that took him four years to design and is yet to be surpassed. As mentioned, this is the complicated made simple. 

The strap

The watch arrives on a blue alligator leather strap from Santoni, a leather-maker that IWC has maintained a long relationship with.

The verdict

This is a watch that just feels right. It is a part of IWC’s efforts to revitalise one of its oldest and most well-known collections, and represents one of the cornerstone complications that the brand has to offer. With a balanced and accessibly sized case, a thoughtfully proportioned dial and a thoroughly modern perpetual calendar movement, there is a lot to like about the new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition.

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition pricing and availability:

The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Boutique Edition is $45,800 AU and is only available from IWC boutiques. For more details, visit IWC right here.

Made in partnership with IWC. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Email

BECOME A SUBSCRIBER

Don't miss any of the action! Join the community to get access to our weekly news round-up, behind the scenes stories, and entrance into exclusive competitions.


SIGN UP NOW
BRANDS
A
A. Lange & Sohne
Aegir Instruments
Akrivia
Alpina
Angelus
Apple
Aquadive
Archimede
Audemars Piguet
Australian Brands
Autodromo
B
Ball Watch Co
Bamford Watch Department
Baume et Mercier
Bausele
Bell & Ross
Blancpain
Breguet
Breitling
Bremont
Briston
Bulgari
Bulova
C
Cartier
Casio
Chanel
Chopard
Christopher Ward
Corum
Creux Automatiq
CT Scuderia
Cvstos
D
Dan Henry
Dior
Doxa
E
Edox
Erroyl
Eterna
F
Farer
Filson
Franck Muller
Frederique Constant
G
Gavox
Girard-Perregaux
Glashütte Original
Glycine
Gorilla
Grand Seiko
Gucci
H
H. Moser & Cie.
Haigh & Hastings
Halios
Hermes
Hublot
HYT
I
Ianos
IWC
J
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaquet Droz
L
Linde Werdelin
Longines
Louis Vuitton
Luminox
M
Martenero
Maurice Lacroix
MB&F - Maximilian Büsser & Friends
Melbourne Watch Company
Mido
Ming
Monta
Montblanc
N
Nodus
Nomos
O
Oak & Oscar
Omega
Oris
P
Panerai
Parmigiani Fleurier
Patek Philippe
Perrelet
Piaget
R
Rado
Ralph Lauren
Raymond Weil
Ressence
Richard Mille
Roger Dubuis
Rolex
S
Seals
Seiko
Sevenfriday
Sinn
Spinnaker
Stowa
Swatch
T
TAG Heuer
Tangramatic
Tiffany & Co
Tissot
Tudor
U
Ulysse Nardin
Undone
Unimatic
Urwerk
V
Vacheron Constantin
Van Cleef & Arpels
Victorinox
Z
Zenith
Zodiac
  • Company
  • The Team
  • Contact
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Exchange Policy
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

The original content on Time and Tide Watches is copyright protected. Please email us before re-posting our content elsewhere. When sharing our images on Pinterest or Instagram please use the credit ‘via Time+Tide' THANK  YOU

TIME+TIDE | MELBOURNE | AUSTRALIA | INFO@TIMEANDTIDEWATCHES.COM

© COPYRIGHT 2019 TIME+TIDE

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Subscribe Now!
  • Reviews
  • Video
  • Club
  • Partners
This site uses cookies as outlined in our cookie policy. Find out more.