IWC Portuguese Perpetual 18-Karat Rose Gold: VIDEO REVIEW

The IWC Portuguese is a mainstay of the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker’s catalog. Conceived in 1939, the design has withstood the trials of time and come into its own with the modern embrace of large watches.

This 44mm rose gold IWC Portuguese Perpetual takes every essential element of the classic Portuguese and adds a litany of IWC watchmaking innovations. 

From its (IWC master watchmaker Albert) Pellaton winding system, whose rotor winds in both directions via pawls to the 51613 in-house movement to the (fellow IWC master watchmaker Kurt) Klaus perpetual calendar mechanism, this Portuguese reads like an anthology of IWC‘s greatest hits.

The Pellaton winder has been copied relentlessly by Swiss rivals, but IWC sports the only original. Its fascinating use of pawls, jeweled rollers, and a bomb-proof shock protected winding rotor makes it the rare winding system that provides an element of theater and suffices as a conversation-starter.

The IWC in-house 51613 movement fills the entire display caseback. In contrast to many rivals, which continue to pack dated mini-movements into macro-sized modern cases, IWC designed the 5000 series specifically to fit modern watches and modern tastes. This masterpiece is braced against shock, temperature, and positional accuracy errors; a Breguet overcoil hairspring, screwed balance, and micro-adjusters see to that. A superb 7-day power reserve keeps the IWC‘s 51613’s rugged heart beating while the collector-owner rotates through his collection of daily drivers.

Kurt Klaus had a hand in the movement, but the perpetual calendar mechanism within this IWC Portuguese is considered his magnum opus. It features day, date, year, decade, century, and moon phase displays that move and adjust in perfect sync; set one display correctly, and all move into agreement. Even better, all of the adjustments are performed with the crown in the second position, and setting this perpetual is no more challenging than setting the date on your Rolex.

This IWC Portuguese Perpetual 5023-06 in 18-karat rose gold is available from watchuwant.com in outstanding condition with full factory accessories; it includes everything a buyer would receive at the IWC factory boutique. Everything, that is, except the MSRP mark-up.