At the beginning of last year, IWC introduced a 150-year anniversary edition of its Portugieser Chronograph as a limited-edition model alongside the original Portugieser Chronograph, which debuted in 1998. The most significant difference between the two is the movement: the unlimited version has a modified ETA Valjoux 7750, while the anniversary model is animated by the new manufacture caliber from the 69000 series. The newcomer?s case has been given a sapphire back and its dial boasts lacquered numerals; the standard model has applied numerals. The two watches are very similar in all other aspects, including their dimensions and proportions.
IWC has equipped a limited anniversary edition of its popular Portugieser Chronograph with a new, favorably priced, manufacture movement, thus making an already handsome model even more attractive. The Portugieser Chronograph has enjoyed strong popularity for many years and is one of IWC?s bestselling models. No one could have possibly predicted this success when the Portugieser?s history began in 1939. The story starts with two Portuguese businessmen who told IWC they were looking for a large wristwatch that could keep time with the accuracy of a ship?s chronometer. IWC responded by filling a 41.5-mm-diameter steel case with Caliber 74H4, which was originally used in pocketwatches and is more than 38 mm in diameter.
This hand-wound wristwatch was given a neatly designed dial with a railway-style minutes circle, Arabic numerals and a s...