IWC

Portugieser Watches

The IWC Portugieser collection was introduced in 1939 with reference 325. Originally it was created under an unusual request from two Portuguese businessmen Rodrigues and Teixeira at the time.  They personally paid a visit to the IWC manufacturing factory in Schaffhausen and asked for a marine chronometer with high precision in a wristwatch format. As a result, a large and legible stainless steel watch equipped with a pocket watch movement was created.

Today this IWC Portugieser collection is the most popular and recognizable IWC watch as an icon of modern elegance. The IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser collection is well-known for its iconic feature of plus-size power elegance, which perfectly balances the modern sensibilities and classical style of the watch. 

Since its establishment in 1868, IWC (International Watch Company) is known for its impeccable invention and meticulous craftsmanship. This luxury watch brand was found in Switzerland by the American watchmaker, Florentine Ariosto Jones. This legendary watch company specialized in the manufacturing of professional watches such as military watches, aviation watches, and sports watches. 

Holding up the long history of 150 years, IWC occupies a top-notch status in the watchmaking industry as well as the hearts of watch collectors. The IWC has been highly admired due to the uncompromised quality and innovations that the company has been offering to the industry. 

The IWC watches are widely acclaimed as one of the most impressive watches due to their bold innovation and rich heritage. Among its popular collections, the IWC Portuguese watches beckon the proud traditions of the brand's watch manufacturing. 

Taking inspiration from Portuguese seafarer's spirit, the IWC Portuguese collection remarkably combines the complications and elegant design aesthetics in its timepieces. Following IWC past tradition of watch manufacturing the IWC Portugieser are classic watches highly admired by watch lovers all across the world.

When it comes to the origins of IWC Portuguese, let’s date back to the end of the 1930s. At the time two Portuguese businessmen Rodrigues and Teixeira visited the IWC headquarters in Schaffhausen with a custom-made request that had an important impact on the company. It was a huge opportunity for the brand to be chosen to develop a large-sized stainless steel watch that housed a pocket watch movement to match the precision of a marine chronometer. 

The IWC company went through many tests and finally created a piece that was able to meet the highest level of precisions. Using its pocket watch movements, the readability was also ensured. Thereby, as a result in 1939, IWC debuted the hunter-style IWC Portugieser watch. 

This IWC watch was equipped with the powerful IWC 74-calibre bar movement in savonnette construction. Unlike a usual stopwatch, the crown of this watch was placed at the right-hand side of the case instead of the top of the watch. 

The movement was encased in a 43 mm stainless steel case. The size of this first IWC Portugieser watch was quite massive as compared to other watches of 1939. 

The first IWC Portuguese watches are one of the models that inspired the current trend of big-sized watches in the market. 

The key features of these earlier IWC Portuguese watches also included a streamlined dial with a thin bezel,  Arabic numeral indices, leaf-shaped hour and minute hands as well as a large sub-dial placed at 6 o'clock for the seconds' measurement. For these watches, IWC offered a variety of options for different dial, hands, and indices. 

However, a few decades after its launch from 1939 to 1993, only very few pieces of IWC Portugieser watches were manufactured and sold. Many people thought it was going to be the end of this IWC marine chronometer watch.

The production of IWC Portugieser had been reduced during the very quiet years. Fortunately, the situation was completely changed after the legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus was sported wearing IWC Portuguese 325 watch. When people gathered around him they started to admire the watch's beauty. The brand started to revisit the watch and revived the manufacturing of Portuguese watches. 

In 1993, to celebrate IWC's 125th anniversary, one of the new models introduced was the resurrected version of IWC Portuguese. Undergoing many modifications and developments, the new Portuguese watch grabbed massive attention and gained momentum. 

The revamped versions of IWC Portuguese watch flawlessly combined contemporary design elements with advanced complications. While going through various modifications, the design aesthetics of these updated Portugieser watches still hold the iconic elements of their origin. Ever since the presentation of the IWC Portuguese collection in 1939, the chronometric precision and stylistic elements of the timeless IWC watch were already highly admired. On the new version, the characteristic design elements such as the sized case, indices, and the symmetrical dial are all reminiscent of the1930’s Portugieser collection. It narrowed the gap between vintage and updated models. 

In the following years, a few more updated versions with new in-house movements were introduced. They all gained success and have become one of the most popular IWC watches ever produced. Thus in the year 2015, for the collection’s 75th-anniversary celebration, IWC released the newer versions of IWC Portuguese and reinforced its status as the mainstay IWC collection. 

The IWC Portuguese collection always amazes the watch connoisseurs with its exquisite precision and sleek designs. Featuring the reliability and elegant look, the IWC Portuguese watch outperforms the other watches. 

The current IWC Portuguese collection offers a total of 38 models under its umbrella. Among these watches, some of the most popular ones are IWC Portugieser Chronograph IW371482, IWC Chronograph 3714, IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Automatic 811 A/AD, the IWC Portugieser Automatic 2000 IW500001 and more.

So aren't these IWC watches very enticing? You would not be able to resist them. Whether you buy a new, or a pre-own IWC watch, the Portuguese watches will surely turn heads. The IWC Portugieser chronograph watches will definitely stand you out as the ideal companion for every occasion.