The IWC Portugieser is having a moment from Squid Game and Hot Ones to The Rock
Zach BlassWhen I was bingeing Squid Game – the record-breaking Netflix series that has become a global phenomenon – I paused the show more than I would have liked trying to figure out which watch lead actor Lee Jung-jae was wearing. To be honest, I still don’t know. But the next best thing would be to figure out which watch he wears in real life. After canvassing Google and social media for the answer, I stumbled upon one watch – and it was a familiar face: the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar. The Portugieser collection is having quite a moment as of late, with The Rock, Shang Chi‘s Simu Liu, and even Adrien Brody all known to sport references of it as well.
The IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar is a 30 metre water-resistant watch with a polished case 44mm in diameter and 14.9mm thick. There are two stainless-steel dial variants – blue and silver-plated. During the red carpet premier of Netflix film Red Notice, The Rock opted to wear the stainless-steel reference with a blue sunburst dial.
Lee Jung-jae, on the other hand, during a photoshoot decided to take things to the next level, pictured wearing the silver-plated dial in 5N gold. While a larger watch, Lee Jung-jae pulls it off really well. Sure, he may not have the massive physique of The Rock, but he proves that less cartoonish wrists can also pull off the watch as well.
The elegance of the watch stems from its superbly clean dial. Where there would usually be applied hour arabics from 11’ to 1’, the annual calendar apertures assume the top of dial real estate with three framed black on white discs peering out through dedicated apertures. Their positioning maintains the symmetry of the dial, as well as preventing clutter, making it easy to discern all of the information – and of course, legibility is a pillar of IWC and Portugieser designs. Inside, visible beneath an exhibition caseback, is the IWC manufactured caliber 52850 that boasts 168 hours, or seven days, of power reserve – indicated by the power reserve indicator at 3’ on the dial. The caliber is decorated well, with circular Côtes de Genève applied to the bridges and perlage on the mainplate.
Now, I confess I am cheating a bit here. Simu Liu is not wearing an annual calendar in the most recently uploaded episode of First We Feast’s Hot Ones, but he is wearing the less complicated member of the collection: the IWC Portugieser Automatic. Fortunately when a watch is worn by a guest on Hot Ones, it comes into full view as the hand inevitably reaches for the head enduring the spice of the hot wings. The more approachably sized (42.3mm x 14.1mm) and priced variant of the Portugieser is primarily the same watch, polished case, 168 hour power reserve automatic caliber (52010), but the dial is, of course, ever so slightly different. Instead of the annual calendar complication, the usual Arabic numerals and IWC logo assume their typical real estate while a date complication assumes the symmetrical 6′ position with a dial blending white on black disc. Like the annual calendar though, at 3′ you have a power reserve indicator and at 9′ a running seconds register.
IWC Portugieser Collection pricing and availability:
The IWC Portugieser Collection is available for purchase via IWC boutiques, the IWC e-commerce platform, and authorised dealers. Price: $20,900 USD (stainless steel), $31,000 USD (5N gold) for the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar and $12,700 USD (stainless steel) for the IWC Portugieser Automatic.