Exploring the New IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar
The refined perpetual calendar is making its reappearance in IWC’s Portofino collection
Written by Theo Baker
January 20, 2023
Late last year, Swiss watchmaker IWC introduced its latest perpetual calendar model into its Portofino collection. The perpetual calendar has become central to IWC’s strides away from its iconic pilot’s watches, and the elegant complication expresses an unmistakable sense of elegance in the brand’s designs. The Portofino Perpetual Calendar is no different, with a sleek dial layout and delicate detailing throughout.
On the exterior, the watch sports a slim case with moderate diameter of 40mm and a height of 12.7mm. IWC offers two iterations of the watch, one with a IWC 18k 5N gold case and the other clad in steel. Both options have mirrored finishing, giving them the ultimate appearance of sophistication. For the case back, IWC opts for an exhibition window that displays the inner mechanics of the watch and offers a water resistance up to 5 bar.
The layout of the dial utilizes three distinct sub-dials to display the various features of the perpetual calendar. At the 3 o’clock position is an aperture for the date, at 6 o’clock is an aperture for the month and moon phase, and the third aperture at 9 o’clock depicts the day of the week. A roman numeral index at 12 is the only numeric hour marker, while the rest use thin geometric indices. For the gold iteration, IWC uses corresponding gold detailing in the indices, hands, and moon phase, while the steel version uses its respective cool-toned detailing instead.
Powering the hands is the IWC manufacture caliber 82650. It is a self-winding, automatic movement with a 60-hour power reserve. Regardless of the complex functions of the mechanism, it is completely operable via one crown that is located at the 3 o’clock position on the case. More commonly, perpetual calendars are challenging to set, but IWC ensures user-friendliness alongside the sleek appearance of the crown.
The IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar is available in gold (ref. IW344601) or steel (ref. IW344601) with pricing marked at $24,000 for both models.
