IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar Hemisphere Moonphase 18k Rose Gold. REF.00776

History

IWC Portugieser Automatic, IWC Portugieser (German for "Portuguese") is a classically-styled series of watches from IWC

The history of the IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar:

2003: Introduction of the first Portuguese Perpetual Calendar ref. 5021 with 44.2mm case and signature double moonphase indicator.

IWC introduced its perpetual calendar mechanism for wristwatches in 1985 in the Da Vinci reference 3570. It was a spectacular novelty at the time. With the Swiss watch industry only slowly recovering from the quartz crisis that had hit them hard in the decade before, the only companies of name offering haute complications like this were the of likes of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin – the three classic horological giants. To put things in perspective, the latter only introduced its first perpetual calendar watch since the 50’s in 1983.

It is safe to say that the price of a watch with such a complication was at this time without exception high – very high.

But then IWC came in. Some 10 years earlier, in the mid seventies, one of its watchmakers had in his spare time devised and created a simple calendar mechanism to be fitted atop a pocket watch movement. When finished, the IWC management was both impressed and interested by what this kind sir had achieved and decided to make it commercially available. Said gentleman, Mr. Kurt Klaus, was to be responsible for not only the design he submitted, but also for the prototyping and the production.

Subsequently Mr. Klaus worked in solitude for close to four years  before the project was finally completed in 1985 and the Da Vinci 3570 was presented to the world at the BaselWorld show. Critically acclaimed and powered by its price that shook the industry, the module would grow out to be the most widely sold perpetual calendar mechanism – not only fitted to the Da Vinci collection, but in adapted form in the Novecento, the GST, the Pilot’s Chronograph and various models by JLC, including the current Master Ultra Thin Perpetual . It would also serve as the base for the IWC’s Grande Complication and their masterpiece of the time, the spectacular Destriero Scafusia.

Fast forward 10 years. After a limited edition run two years earlier, IWC introduced the Portuguese back into the regular collection in 1995 with the Chronograph Rattrapante and Chronograph Automatic. Inspired by the success of this collection, IWC decided to create a new model powered by a movement matching the generous proportions of the case: an automatic movement with the size of a pocket watch movement. First used in the Portuguese 2000, the movement used IWC’s signature Pellaton winding system and boasted a 8 day power reserve – restricted to 7 days to ensure accuracy throughout the range.

In 2015, IWC celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Portuguese with the introduction of a myriad of new models and revamps of most of the existing ones.. Besides a number of changes on the design, the movement powering this new generation of Portuguese Perpetual Calendars was now fitted with twin barrels ensuring the 7 day power reserve, while the previous generations got their power from one single barrel.