My first post and just joined here. I am about to purchase the IWC Portofino Chronograph Laureus edition because... well, how do I put it. It is gorgeous and it fits in my wrists perfectly. I am just waiting for my AD in Heathrow to bring it in.
The 1st questions is, what movement do they have in the the Laureus Portofino Chronograph? some say its 7750 Valjoux, some say its Sellita movement (if so which one?)
The 2nd questions is, are they produced by ETA/Sellita and modified according to IWC specs, therefore, not modified in Schaffhausen at all? Or are the generic movements bought over and modified heavily in Schaffhausen?
Welcome to the forum calsoertj. In relation to your first question; The Laureus version of the 3910 Portofino has IWC calibre 79320 fitted. This is the same movement as used in the pilots chronographs and is ETA/Valjoux based. Previous versions of the 3910 had IWC calibre 75320 fitted. This is Sellita based. For the best answer to your second query, you should use the forum search function with words like Sellita. The subject has been discussed here many times. Good luck with your purchase and post some photos as we don't see many Laureus on the forum. Leo
Now the first question has been tackled. I have tried searching for the 2nd answer and every forum I came across gave different answers. Do you know how much of the Valjoux 7750 in terms of percentages has been altered and modified?
I will just have faith in IWC that the movement has been altered to their specification and somewhat checked, tested, and regulated in Schaffhausen before being presented to the authorized dealers. Unless of course, anyone has a clearer understanding regarding the 2nd question. In that case, please enlighten me.
Photos will be available once I have collected it from Heathrow and once I am back from the holiday, which will be somewhere in June. Not a bad start to my holiday I must admit.
ii) IWC Collectors' Forum article: "IWC's Use of the ETA-Valjoux Chronograph Movements by Christian H. Niemann revised by M. Friedberg".
I myself do not fully understand the technicalities like our distinguished Forummer Leosweeneypod, but you will see in ii) above, how the calibre numbers changed based on the IWC modifications.
Thank you very much for the detailed response, all my questions are now answered. I hope this forum stays alive so new purchasers of Portofino Chronographs have the knowledge of the product they are buying, since I am quite sure many newcomers to IWC have similar questions (after reading through several threads in different forums).
Now how do I change the title of this forum to 'IWC Portofino Chronograph movement dilemma'.
I have came across an interesting claim that IWC have some sort of contributions to the ETA movements down the history. Now I wonder if this is true, if it is then it makes sense that IWC is still implementing the modified ETA Valjoux 7750.
