Eight day Hand Wound Portofino OR Portuguese Chronograph Automatic?

Good evening fellow time piece lovers,

As the title suggests I'm having trouble in deciding which watch to go for, and wondered if anyone has owned either watch and could give me any feedback on experiences they've had whilst owning the watch?

Iv'e seen a previous thread on deprecation of IWC's and as a sub question does anyone know if these two styles do depreciate at a more rapid rate than others? And for that matter IWC in general? I am buying not for investment but for pleasure as i believe all lovers should, but in the current climate it would be reassuring to know these kind of questions.

Many thanks in advance to all who is able to reply with some valuable information.

I truly like my Portofino 8 Days Handwound. I wears very comfortable despite its size, it looks very special, being dressy with some sporty hint, it is technically interesting and advanced, and it has the functions that I like and use. I have some chrono's, but I hardly use the chrono function: it looks nice, though.

What more to say? I spent the money, don't expect anything back for the watch as I will not sell if it goes the way I like.

Kind regards,
Paul

One houses an in-house movement that IWC is proud of while the other is truly iconic. You can't go wrong with either but I advise that you try it on. I couldn't pull off the Portofino 8 days as it wears too big on my wrist for a dress watch.

Fantastic feedback, thank you!

Cant decide if to spend that little extra and get the 18k rose gold portofino, tough decisions! Would you say the portofino is the more iconic of the two? Might even sell my sea dweller and go for the perpetual calendar, which I feel is one of the most attractive watches IWC have in their collection!

Many thanks, and happy new year to all.

I think neither is iconic, both being rather new watches, and not dominantly popular, like the Big Pilot. I don't know which watches you have, you need one sporty watch, and I wouldn't sell the Sea Dweller, that really is iconic.

Kind regards,
Paul

Old sea dweller no. New sea dweller maybe.

Ceramic bezels look all shiny and slick, but perform poorly to actual daily wear and tear conditions. My deep sea bezel cracked. Don't ask. It's like part of rolex's strategy for more frequent and expensive replacements (servicing costs)

Back to IWC. IMHO, the chronograph automatic has always been an icon for the brand and rightfully so. It's a bestseller. Great size, classic dimensions, purist design and one that will transcend through the ages. Will fit your wife, girlfriend, daughter, son, boyfriend, husband regardless of wrist size.

Valjoux movement base is also well tested, recognised and easily serviceable, not to mention at a lower cost. This in house strategy that IWC has adopted is in complete contrast to their stance just a decade ago, just look back and read the archives. It's all ego and marketing, nothing much to do with actual functionality, reliability and longevity of your timepiece. I will go as far as to say that IWC's best watches past and present are actually ETA based/modified. This is very much part of IWC's history and DNA. The marketing or move towards more in house movements is just industry trend following/ noise creation. Think of it like apple creating their own chips for their MacBooks/Macs. They want to, but intel is unfortunately or fortunately still better (cheaper too).

The new in house movements are very good I'm sure, but they've yet to prove themselves. I just don't think that they command the higher price to value ratio. The 3/4 is no doubt beautiful, but the balance Spring seems too small in comparison to the maschismo character of the movement. Manual winds are awesome / cool no doubt, but autos are still way more covenient. The portofino labelling also does not work for me. What's the messaging here? Is IWC Italian or Swiss German? It just fights with schaffausen. I'm glad they removed it from the latest models of the product line. If it does not relate to the functionality (depth rating, power reserve, institutional certification) of the piece, remove it.

The portofino is a beautiful piece, but it pales in comparison to frank underwood's favourite piece :)

Just my few cents worth :)

Happy 2016!!!

You are right, Leon, about the Portuguese Chronograph Automatic, which is a huge success the last decade or so. I assumed, wrongfully maybe, that the Portuguese Chronograph Classic was meant, being in about the same price range as the Portofino 8 Days Handwound. The Classic is fairly new, and is quite a nice watch. It has some competition by the new, smaller Yacht Club by the way.

Kind regards,
Paul

And, I may add - Keith Richards' favourite piece

Lol! It's been long long while...

Thanks Paul.

For me, chronograph auto - YESSS!
Chronograph classic - MEH!

I agree with Sunflower.
If you like it get it and dont look back.

The 8 Day Portofino Hand Wound Range are elegant pieces and wear Up/ Down especially if you have a large wrist (like I do) and are surprisingly unisex too.

I was contemplating buying one for 2yrs for my 50th, but in the end got a PP 5227r - but promised myself i would get the 8 Day Porto next (either new or used) and not worry about residual value because i liked it so much. It's to wear and enjoy and if you get a good deal, so much the better.

The 8 Day looks fantastic on the Santoni straps but also great on a Navy, Green, Milanse Mesh, Tan and so becomes a very versatile watch unlike others (i did an photoshop cut and paste with different straps).

Hope this helps abit... :)

Interesting views and points made here, and after reading them I have started to browse through the possible options the Portuguese range offers. With regards to those photoshop images of the different milanese straps, I couldn't find them anywhere? Very interested to see the outcomes! Could you possibly post the images in this thread?

To most £5,500 is no pocket change, but I can't help but think if i hold fire for a year or so I could step up to the Perpetual calendar which in my opinion is the essence of IWC's vibe and ascetics in their watches.

Quick question, which has the better movement Portuguese or Portofino? Didn't the Portofinos movement change fairly recently?

Many thanks,

Leo

Just as a follow up iv'e been looking at this instead of the Portofino 8 Day Hand Wound :
IWC Portuguese Automatic 7 Days Date IW500107 5001-07 White Dial.

Thoughts?

The Milanese straps are presented and available for some of the Portofino watches, not the Portuguese. This Milanese strap might fit on some of Portuguese watches too, but it is maybe tricky because of position of the holes in the lugs for the strap.

All movements used by IWC, also the in-house movements, are high quality, I wouldn't be able to indicate a difference between them on this quality aspect. This gives you the possibility to choose the watch you like best, without having to worry about the quality.

The new 8 Days Handwound movement is a few years old now, it is used in both the Portofino and the Portuguese 8 Days Handwound. It is a high quality movement, with quite some technical highlights, like the Breguet end coil and the free sprung balance spring. I like it quite a bit: it doesn't look as sexy as a Lange movement, but it is manufactured and finished to the highest standards, a typical engineer-looking IWC movement.

Kind regards,
Paul