In the case of the Portuguese Automatic with date display, the railway track-style chapter ring, feuille hands and appliquéd Arabic numerals give the dial the classic appeal of the first Portuguese watches of the 1930s. The IWC-manufactured 51011 calibre integrates all the finest features ever to grace an automatic movement, such as the highly efficient Pellaton winding system and a seven-day power reserve.

• Mechanical movement
• Pellaton automatic winding
• 7-day power reserve when fully wound
• Power reserve display
• Date display
• Small hacking seconds at 9 o’clock
• Glucydur®* beryllium alloy balance with high-precision adjustment cam on balance arms
• Breguet spring
• Rotor with 18-carat gold medallion
• Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
• See-through sapphire-glass back
• Water-resistant 3 bar
• Case height 14 mm
• Diameter 42.3 mm

ZEITGEIST COMBINED WITH TRADITION

Since its debut in 2004, the Portuguese Auto-matic with date display has become one of the most successful Portuguese models ever to come from Schaffhausen. The balanced design of the dial with its appliquéd Arabic numerals, railway track-style chapter ring and slender feuille hands retains the classic appeal of the legendary original Portuguese, first manufactured in the 1930s. Its spiritual roots reach all the way back to the voyages of discovery undertaken by the Portuguese seafarers. The volumin-ous IWC-manufactured 51011 calibre integrates all the finest features ever to grace an automatic movement, such as the highly efficient Pellaton winding system and a seven-day power reserve. Since 2010, the Portuguese Automatic’s 42.3-millimetre case has been available in warm- toned, 18-carat red gold. The appliqués on the silver-plated dial are likewise made of red gold. The steel model with its silver-plated dial (like the earlier steel versions) was fitted with rose-gold-plated hands, numerals and hour markers: luxury befitting of a watch model so much in demand. The Portuguese Automatic in 18-carat white gold and the other steel models complete the collection

Portuguese On Precision Course To Success

“Heroes of the sea, noble people …” is the opening line of the Portuguese national anthem. It is the expression of a collective memory through which Portugal’s great seafarers – Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias or Ferdinand Magellan – remain alive to this day. Above all, it was their outstanding sailing skills, their precise nautical charts and the use of instruments such as the astrolabe and Jacob’s staff to determine their latitude on the high seas that enabled them to embark on their daredevil voyages of discovery to West Africa and across the world’s oceans. The pioneers of Portuguese seafaring managed to reconcile seemingly incompatible opposites: their hot-blooded temperament with cool calculation; outstanding courage with respect for natural forces; and historical tradition with all that was new in science and technology. The Portuguese watches from IWC are a distant echo from that glorious past. They combine the tradition of nautical instruments with contemporary design and forward-looking mechanics.

Also known as: IWC IW500109, IWIW5001-09, 500109, 5001-09