2010 IWC Portuguese Chronograph Black IW371438
Ref: IW371438
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original IWC presentation box and original IWC paperwork, the watch is from December 2010 and comes fitted on a 20mm IWC leather strap with an IWC Signed Buckle. The watch is in worn condition but is overall very fair, as you can see in the photos. The watch recently received a full service with IWC. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FSLV6DyJRyIKJYk8Mi1VAaznnKaJAAM4?usp=sharing
4K YouTube video, skip to 10:19 - https://youtu.be/2wNwouWt3Gw
The Watch
Here we have a 2010 IWC Portuguese Chronograph IW371401 with a 40.5mm stainless steel case, the sides of the case are expertly brushed with a mirror finish to the tops of the lugs, and a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 12mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. On the right side, we have the chronograph pushers and a large crown in the centre. A thin smooth bezel holds a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal AR coated on both sides above a black dial. An outer minute chapter ring precisely executed with applied polished Arabic numeral indices mark the hours, at 12 o'clock a recessed 30-minute register and at 6 o'clock a recessed 60-second register. Elegant polished leaf hands with a fine tapered chronograph hand complete this classic bi-compax. Text is precisely executed “IWC Schaffhausen” at 3 o'clock and “Chronograph Automatic” at 9 o'clock respectively. On the reverse a screw-down case back, inside an automatic IWC Cal. 79350, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, this movement is based on the Valjoux 7750, assembled, finished, and tested at their IWC factory. The watch comes fitted on a 20mm IWC leather strap with a signed buckle, the watch also comes with its original IWC presentation box and original IWC paperwork.
Personal Note
The IWC Portuguese is instantly recognised as an IWC due to its wonderful dial layout that has become synonymous with IWC and the Portuguese models. This black dial offers everything you'd expect from the Portuguese but really adds a "sporty" layer which elevates it to another level, perfect with a suit or t-shirt and jeans, that is what I love about this specific model.
The Brand
Florentine Aristo Jones founded IWC in 1868. In 1867 he applied for a European passport with the ambition to create watches using the American system of Watchmaking. This system was derived from the Federal Armories at Springfield and Harpers Ferry. Where high-precision interchangeable parts were needed for armaments. This was perfect to use in watchmaking and Florentine was a pioneer in introducing it to the Swiss. In 1868 Florentine and Charles Kidder ended up in Schaffhausen Switzerland. Originally called the company F. A Jones & Co which was later changed to IWC International Watch Company. Florentine returned to the USA in 1876 where he retired and sadly passed away in 1916. His spirit carries on today in the modern IWC watches. The IWC Portugieser was first introduced way back in 1939 when 2 businessmen Rodrigues and Texeira visited the factory in Schaffhausen. They had an unusual request: they required a marine chronometer in the form of a wristwatch. IWC got to work and created a 43mm, stainless steel watch with a hand-wound Cal.74 pocket watch movement. This was very large for the time with 33mm being the norm for a wristwatch. It had Arabic numerals, an almost non-existent bezel, and slim leaf-shaped hands, a second subdial at 6 o’clock. Only 304 pieces were ever created with the Cal.74 movement. Since then the IWC Portugieser has become one of IWC's most iconic and best-selling.