SIHH 2015: Introducing the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar (Live Pictures…)

By Arthur Touchot January 20, 2015

You may recall our surprise – and delight – when IWC Schaffhausen announced it would be presenting a revamped Portuguese collection. It seemed like the next step for the Swiss brand, but IWC then made things even more interesting by re-naming the iconic Portuguese family. Instead, we would be getting eight new models of the Portugieser (find out more about its foreign name here) at SIHH 2015. We will cover all the news releases shortly, but will focus today on a particular member of the latest generation: The Portugieser Annual Calendar.

SIHH 2015: IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar

Following five years of research and development, IWC Schaffhausen finally presented an eager crowd of journalists with its first annual calendar. Above is the stainless steel with a silver-plated (Ref. IW503501), while two more iterations are available in 18-carat red gold (Ref. IW503504), or midnight blue (Ref. IW503502) dial.

The Portugieser Annual Calendar (Ref. 5035) features three separate windows for the month, date and day at “12 o’clock.” Note the “American” order in which the date is shown, for technical reasons, but also as homage to IWC’s American founder, Florentine Ariosto Jones. The new watch is presented in a large 44.2 mm case with grooved bezel, classic railway-track-style chapter ring, slim feuille hands and Arabic numerals similar to the original Portugieser of 1939. The small seconds subdial, however, is not positioned at “6 o’clock” as in the original, but at “9 o’clock”.

The new watch is made possible by the development of the new IWC-manufactured 52850 caliber, which features two barrels that keep the new function supplied for approximately 168 hours, enough to ensure a 7-day power reserve. “We’ve enhanced the design and finish of the plates and bridges considerably,” said Christian Knoop, Creative Director at IWC Schaffhausen, who confirmed the watch manufacturer’s decision to produce more in-house movements in the years ahead. This includes a new engine to last year’s Perpetual Calendar (below), but that’s a story for another day.