The upcoming year will mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of IWC Schaffhausen. To celebrate this milestone, the brand has announced the 2018 release of two commemorative timepieces.
Left-Right: IWC Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” and IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years”
IWC was founded in 1868 by the American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones. Over its 150-year-long history, IWC has developed a reputation for crafting luxurious, solidly engineered watches. The brand’s motto, “Probus Scafusia,” translates from Latin to “good craftsmanship from Schaffhausen”, and International Watch Company undoubtedly lives up to this creed.
The two new watches being released are the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon “150 Years” Edition and the IWC Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon “150 Years” Edition.
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW504501
The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” is a significant development for IWC. It is the first time the brand has combined a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon on the dial. The 45mm case echoes the style of the Portugieser collection, which is distinctive for its short, curved lugs and large crown. The watch is affixed to a luxurious black alligator strap and water resistant to 30m.
Dial of IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW504501
This timepiece has a white dial with large, black Arabic numerals styled in the same signature font as other watches in the Portugieser family. The sizable hour and minute hands coupled with a simple, railroad-style minutes track ensure that time can be easily read.
The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” features three sub dials which indicate the day, date, power reserve, and moon phase. The sub-dial at 9 o’clock indicates the day, and at 3 o’clock the sub-dials show the date and power reserve. The moon phase feature and a month indicator are displayed at 6 o’clock, with the year displayed just below 8 o’clock. Finally, the flying tourbillon at 12 o’clock completes one revolution every minute.
Exhibition case back of IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW504501
The movement powering the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” is the self-winding IWC Caliber 51950 which boasts an impressive 7-day power reserve. The intricate craftsmanship, inspiring design, and meticulous attention to detail are hard to miss on this impeccable timepiece.
Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW590202
The other tourbillon watch that IWC has announced to commemorate its 150th anniversary is the Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years.” This timepiece has a larger 46mm case forged from solid platinum. Like the new Perpetual Calendar model, the watch is affixed to a black alligator leather strap and features a water resistance of 30m.
The Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” has a less intricate dial than the Perpetual Calendar model. The moon phase feature at 1 o’clock only needs to be adjusted by a single day after 577.5 years. The power reserve indicator is located below the moon phase around the 4:30 position. The true focal point of the timepiece is the large tourbillon, featuring a mechanism that powers the watch in constant, even impulses to the escapement.
Tourbillon feature on the Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW590202
The movement that powers this watch is the IWC caliber 94805 which is manually wound and features a 96 hour power reserve. Like the Perpetual Calendar, this watch has an exhibition case back and features an inlaid insignia commemorating the IWC 150th anniversary.
Exhibition case back of Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” IW590202
These two highly advanced special anniversary watches will be produced in extremely limited numbers and released in 2018. Only 50 pieces of the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” will be produced, and the IWC Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” is limited to just 15 pieces worldwide.
Although these timepieces are not yet released, we have many IWC Portugieser watches available for sale on AuthenticWatches.com at the following link:
https://www.authenticwatches.com/iwc-portuguese.html
Shop all IWC on AuthenticWatches.com at the following link:
https://www.authenticwatches.com/iwc-watches.html
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