In recent months, we?ve spent a considerable amount of time discussing some fairly sporty watches from IWC. The Schaffhausen based brand leaned heavily into updating their already robust Pilot?s Watch collection earlier this year, and we?ve enjoyed taking them for test drives when the opportunities to do so presented themselves. But if you were new to watches, our recent IWC coverage might have you thinking the brand was a one trick pony. They do a lot more than sporty pilot?s watches. As we?ve discussed on the podcast as recently as this week, they have a variety of other sports lines that we?d love to see them update. But what if you’re looking for something with an additional heir of class and sophistication" Maybe you have a formal event to attend, and you want to be prepared just in case the need to time something arises" Throwing out pure sports watches entirely, there is yet another side to IWC, by way of the Portofino collection, and it just received a refresh that we think many who are interested in the brand but might be keen on if they’re looking for something a bit more refined than the rugged pilot’s watches that have filled these pages in recent months. 
The Portofino collection has existed since 1984, and if you look carefully at these watches, a lot of that 80s DNA is still present. The shaped lugs, gold accents, and unusual chronograph pushers all feel a little outside of our current time, but in a way that?s coherent ...