Just a minute or two after posting that thread saying my Portu Chrono is waiting for the big brother to arrive, a delivery truck pulled up the drive. The photos follows some initial review and comments. I see some other postings and photos on the Classic Chrono so I expect we'll be seeing more of these, especially now that ADs have them and its an open hunting season for the best price.
These are my quick phone photos as I was also in a rush to leave home for a meeting.
Unusually big box compared to the Chrono:
Inside the IWC box outer box:
Thank you note from my IWC friends:
The inner black box is twice the Chrono box. This also looks to be slightly bigger than the Portofino 8-day box. I do not have a 7-day automatic so can't compare:
Here it is, was waiting for 4 weeks, silver with the blue hand:
sticker unwrapped:
Turned over:
folding clasp (more on this below):
A bigger (compared to all my other models) instruction book (yet to open it):
Family together:
Out and about:
Initial review and thoughts:
Stunning. Way better than the Chrono from dial color to hands, but we knew that. While stunning, I would put this as more in the category of a "sports" watch or informal wear, not elegant like the hand-wound or the pure classic.
The open back is a definite plus for the watch nerd here. Without an open back I would not have gone for this line.Dial definitely looks smaller than the Chrono, though quoted sizes are 42 mm for Classic and 40.9 for Chrono. Part of the difference is that Chrono dial extends all the way to the edge. Smallish diameter is compensated by the extended lugs, a larger crown and extended chromo knobs. This looks to be some nice trade-off between those who want large diameter watches and others who complain about IWC sizes. I think in terms of the size on my wrist (7.5 inches) IWC hit a home run with this series. Because of smallish dial, chrono arabic numbers along the edge are in smaller fonts. The bottom seconds sub-dial numbers are also smaller, matched to the font sizes of the very busy minute/hour chrono sub-dial to the top.
Did I say a larger crown? And in that it is not massively large crown as some other watch brands? There must have been some careful thought given to size-match the crown and the two chrono-function knobs. They are extended out more than the Chrono. We know of the crown failure with the larger diameter Portofinos like the VT Moon-Phase, but the larger crown here makes this watch appear bigger for those who want bigger watch sizes.
Comfortable strap, I am expecting we will be seeing Santoni straps on all new models from now. The folding clasp has a new design compared to both the 7-day and Chrono's. This makes the folding clasp a bit larger. I am having some difficulty getting used to it. I can feel the other end of the clasp forcing against the wrist, but I expect that's an issue with a new watch and stiff straps.
Compared to the Chrono, watch feels heavier, especially with the larger folding clasp. About after more than three hours on the wrist, this is no longer an issue. Watch is thicker, but not excessively. I need to check how this compares to the bigger diameter Yatch Club when next at a boutique.
The color mismatch of the dial and the date window bugs me. A watch of this quality should be either matched or not presented in a way that makes it look like an attempt was made to match but given up. I raised this issue with Chris Bresser, but he did not give me a direct answer as to why color matching of the date dial is a technical challenge. The date window is smaller than the 7-day and also in Portofino models. So doesn't stand out, but still expectations are not low when it comes to what IWC should deliver.
There is some empty white space next to the date window. Chrono has extra text on the dial Chronograph/Automatic, 7-day has the text Automatic and Yatch has Yatch Club. I am surprised they left without any identifier text. Any text could make the dial busier than it is already. The back along the edge says IWC Portuguese Chronograph. no "Classic", though they could have found space to put Classic back there. This leads me to think that 3714 Chrono is going to be phased out and these 3904s will become the standard Portu Chronos.
12-hour Chrono function. Welcome to dual time (except the need to start it at midnight or noon).
What happened to that thin black line along the middle of the hands easily seen in IWC publicity photos? Its gone and I do not recall if the ones I saw in the boutique had the lines or not. This is not a concern, but those lines could have been another identifier of counterfeits when they eventually hit the market.
A nice big box for this watch is perhaps bit too much. They should have added a plate like the 7-day to identify the watch. I was really looking forward to that and was a disappointment to see all that empty white space inside a big box.
Watch had definitely shaken up a bit inside the box during the transit. Given the past issues of mechanical failures in new watches, IWC must do a better design of the center slot to hold watches firmly. Or watches could be shipped with some extra support that the recipients can safely remove and discard after the delivery.
That's it.
Ray
