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Jacqueline Tsang

Declaring 2010 the Year of the Portuguese, Schaffhausen  watch manufacturer IWC breathes fresh air into its classic Portuguese collection, which is approaching its eighth decade.
In 1939, IWC created its first Portuguese watch for two importers in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal's two largest cities. Following the tradition of nautical instruments at the time, the 1939 timepiece was an oversized precision piece equipped with pocket watch movements.
Today,  the IWC Portuguese collection continues to embody the spirit of navigation, with novelties that embrace more modern aesthetics without  compromising the brand's integrity.
 'The new models have a touch of sporty elegance,'  says Mario Klein,  IWC group product manager. 
'Until now, the Portuguese collection has had a traditional look. This year, we have underlined our sporty interpretation of the collection with details such as rubber straps, crown protection and Superluminova hands.'
Michael Brouwer,  associate director of project management at IWC, is careful to assure IWC collectors that the new collection will not deviate greatly from the classic look for which the brand is known for. 
'No drastic changes were made. Our goal was to keep the strategy of the existing Portuguese family, build upon its strengths and merely introduce a relevance, and forge a new connection to the theme of navigation,' Brouwer says. The Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph is the first Portuguese model to incorporate a sporty touch to  its design. 
Fitted with the IWC-manufactured 89360-calibre movement, the watch features a flyback function that allows the chronograph to be reset to zero while running in order to measure a  new time. 
The analogue display on the dial is also particularly useful in that it can be read like a time display when measuring long stop times, with a small 12-hour counter positioned inside a larger 60-minute counter.  This is the only Portuguese model to have luminescent indices and hands, and other nautical considerations include water resistance to six bars, a screw-in crown with crown protection, and anti-reflective coating on the glass. 
The model comes in three versions - cased in stainless steel, paired with a black rubber strap and either a black or silver-plated dial, or in a red-gold case paired with a slate-coloured dial and black rubber strap. 
For those who want to stay true to the original, Brouwer suggests the Portuguese Hand-Wound model.
'This model is based on the first Portuguese watch from 1939,' he says. 
'It is an  elegant watch and, like the original, it's all about precision.'
The IWC-manufactured 98295-calibre mechanical movement contains a balance with a high-precision adjustment cam on the balance arms and an elongated precision index to make it easier to adjust the spring to its most effective length. 
The design bears a faithful resemblance to the 1939 model, with a simple two-hand time indication, a small seconds dial at six o'clock and the 'railway track' chapter ring marking off the indices. 
The unlimited model comes in a stainless steel case with either a black or silver-plated dial.
In stark contrast to the simple dial of the Hand-Wound model is the new Portuguese Grande Complication. 
In 1990, IWC was the first watch manufacturer to bring together each of the highest horological complications in a wristwatch, and 20 years later it is updating the movement and housing it in a Portuguese case for the first time.
The Portuguese Grande Complication movement has increased the water resistance to three bars while retaining the previous complications. 
In addition to the chronograph, minute-repeater function and perpetual moon-phase display - requiring correction only once every 122 years - the watch features an autonomous perpetual calendar which will not require any adjustments until the year 2100.
Even given the large number of complications, the dial is kept uncluttered with the use of dual function sub-dials. 
The moon phase display at 12 o'clock is also a 30-minute counter, the small hacking seconds dial at nine o'clock is encircled by a dial showing the days of the week, and the 12-hour counter at six o'clock is enclosed within a month indicator. 
Also included are a date dial at three o'clock and a four-digit year display next to the six o'clock sub-dial. 'What is worth noting is that the Portuguese Grande Complication watch is the only one in the collection that features a sextant engraved on the caseback,' Klein says. 'The sextant used for nautical navigation and the engraving pays tribute to that instrument.'
The model comes in a red gold case paired with a silver-plated dial and dark brown alligator leather strap. 
Other highlights of the new Portuguese collection include the Minute Repeater,  Tourbillon Mystere Retrograde  and the Perpetual Calendar.  
The Minute Repeater model resembles the Hand-Wound model in its design, with a clean two-hand dial and a small hacking seconds sub-dial at six o'clock. 
The simple dial enhances the clear notes of the repeater, which indicates each hour with a lower-pitched gong, each quarter of the hour with double strikes and each minute past the quarter with a higher-pitched gong. 
The model comes in either red gold or platinum, limited to 500 pieces each.
The Tourbillon Myst?re Retrograde is 'my favourite from the 2010 novelties',  says Brouwer. It is the first IWC date watch to feature a retrograde display.
The focus of the watch, the rotating carriage escapement, is placed at 12 o'clock, while the seven-day power reserve indicator is located at three o'clock and the retrograde date display arches across the lower left quarter of the dial. 
The red-gold version of the model is limited to 500 pieces, and the platinum version is limited to 250 pieces. 
The Perpetual Calendar, one of Klein's top picks, was a crowd-pleaser at SIHH. 
The dial features a four-digit year display, month, day and date dials, a seven-day power reserve display and a small hacking seconds dial. The highlight is the dual moon-phase display at 12 o'clock, showing the reverse phases of the moon when viewed from the northern and southern hemisphere. The rotating disc also shows a scale which counts down the number of days until the next full moon. 
Available in either a white-gold case with blue dial or a red-gold case with black dial.



Spirit of navigation