Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42

 The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 Story

IWC’s perpetual calendar, developed by Kurt Klaus in the 1980s, automatically recognizes the different lengths of the months and the leap years and can easily be adjusted via a single crown. Now, for the first time, the complication is integrated into a movement from the 82000-calibre family. The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 displays the date, month and weekday on three subdials at "3 o'clock", "6 o'clock" and "9 o'clock". It also features indications for the moon phase and the leap year. With the help of ceramic components, the IWC-manufactured 82650 calibre’s Pellaton winding system builds up a power reserve of 60 hours. This timepiece with a diameter of 42 millimetres has an 18-carat 5N gold case, a silver-plated dial, gold-plated hands, and 18-carat gold appliqués. This timeless, elegant Portugieser is fitted with a brown alligator leather strap from Santoni.

Calibre Family 82000

The IWC-manufactured 82000 calibre ties in with the tradition of high-quality automatic movements from IWC. It is fitted with the highly efficient IWC Pellaton automatic winding system, which uses both directions of the rotor to wind the mainspring. As in the IWC-manufactured 52000 calibre family, components in the system subject to pronounced stress, such as the pawls, the automatic wheel, or the cam, are made of ceramic. Thanks to the use of this high-tech material, they are virtually wear-free. The efficient automatic winding system builds up a power reserve of at least 60 hours in the mainspring. The indexless balance with a flat coil oscillates at a frequency of 4 hertz (28,800 beats per hour), ensuring a high level of precision. The rotor is skeletonised and offers a view of the movement decorated with circular graining and Geneva stripes.

Perpetual Calendar

Back in the 1980s, IWC’s legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus designed a perpetual calendar that comprised only about 80 individual parts. A further attractive new feature was its high user-friendliness. All displays are perfectly synchronized and, if the watch has not been worn for some time, are easily advanced using only the crown. In 2003 the perpetual calendar appeared in the Portugieser family for the first time. The calendar module has been continuously improved over the years. It will require a correction only in 2100 because, due to a quirk of the Gregorian calendar, the leap year that would normally occur then, will be omitted.

The Portugieser Collection

Only a few designs are absolutely timeless. With the Portugieser, IWC created an icon in the late 1930s. The basis for the Reference 325, which was delivered to two business men from Portugal – hence its name – was a hunter pocket watch caliber. Inspiration for the clean, open, highly functional dial came from the deck watches IWC was producing for the British Royal Navy at the time. From the outset, the Portugieser had the typical stylistic features of a pocket watch, coupled with the high precision and easy readability of a nautical instrument.

About IWC Schaffhausen

In 1868, the American watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones travelled from Boston to Switzerland and founded the “International Watch Company” in Schaffhausen. His visionary dream was to combine advanced American manufacturing methods with the craftsmanship of Swiss watchmakers to make the best pocket watches of his time. In doing so, he not only laid the foundation to IWC’s unique engineering approach but also established the centralized production of mechanical watches in Switzerland.

Over its 150 year history, IWC Schaffhausen has developed a reputation for creating functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy for customers to use. A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramics, IWC today specializes in highly engineered technical watch cases manufactured from advanced materials, such as titanium-aluminide and Ceratanium®. Preferring the principle of “form follows function” over decoration, the Swiss watch manufacturer’s timeless creations embody their owners’ dream and ambitions as the journey through life.