Problem with date change on Portofino automatic

Hi everyone. First time poster.

I got a beautiful Portofino automatic (IW356502) from my wife a couple of weeks ago. After a couple of days i noticed that the date changes at 12pm (12:00) instead of 12am (24:00). I'm guessing there is a logical solution but i wanted to get a second opinion.

Also is it normal for the watch to have a whirring sound when you move your wrist?

Best regards

Wills

Welcome to the forum Wills, and congratulations on having such a wonderful wife to give you, as you say, the beautiful Portofino automatic. To allay any concerns, what you have described does not sound like a problem. The date change works on the basis of the hour hound revolving twice in 24 hours, so it is probable that the watch was set 12 hours ahead of itself. I suggest you let the watch stop for 2 days and then turn the crown to advance the hour hand until it is in cinque with am and pm together with the date. Remember not to use the date quick change between the hours of 9 pm and 3 am as the automatic date gear change operates between these times and using the quick change can damage the gears during the automatic operation.
As for the whirring sound, you must have excellent hearing as this is the automatic winding system activating when you move your wrist.

Hi Wills!

Congratulations on the new watch! You could do as David suggests. You can also follow these steps:

1. Pull the crown to the outer-most position till the seconds hand stops.

2. Advance the hour hand till it goes past 12’o clock and the date changes. Now the time is in AM.

3. Keep advancing the hour hand to the FIRST 7’o clock, or 7 AM according to the watch.

4. Since the date has advanced by one day, you will have to push the crown one slot to reach the date changing mode. Advance the date past 31st till it reached today’s (desired) date.

5. Now pull the crown back to the outer-most position or time setting mode. Again the seconds hand stops.

6. Set the time from a reliable source on the internet.

7. You can synchronize your seconds hand with the exact second of the time source by pushing the crown to the inner-most position, the moment the seconds impulse of the source matches the seconds position on your watch.

That’s it! Your IWC is set!

Best Regards,

Sumit

Thanks to both of you for you good advise. I will definitely try them before contacting IWC.

My concern has now shifted to the whirring sound. Earlier today I was driving my car and I could still with the motor noise in the background hear what I suppose is the automatic winding system.

Another detail that bothers me is the crown. It is barely visible but throughout the middle of the crown runs a narrow line which seems odd. I have looked at many close-up pictures of the same model but never have I seen this line.

I guess I'm being a little oversensitive but that is just because I have never received such an expensive and wonderful gift before. I want everything to be perfect.

Best regards

Wills

Hi Wills,

I believe, your Portofino 356502 has the IWC caliber 35110, which is based on the Sellita SW300 movement. Earlier, this reference used to come with caliber 30110 which was based on the venerable ETA 2892-2. Both calibers have IWC's magic onto them making them some of the world's most reliable movements. It is possible that the newer movement has a slightly noisier rotor than its predecessors (experts please correct be if I'm wrong on this). If this is natural, I don't think it will effect the timekeeping reliability of the watch in any way. I have a Valjoux 7750 based 79230 powering my grail, the IWC 3799. It does wobble sometimes, but it makes me feel that the watch is alive! The watch is accurate to +1 second a day and I have been wearing it for 3 weeks straight!

About the line running through the middle of the crown, if you can post a picture here it will be easier for us to understand the issue...

Best Regards,

Sumit

Hi, thanks again for all the help. Here is a picture of the crown.

Best regards

Wills

Oh boy! That seems to be a ding on the crown!! Probably the crown hit someting hard and sharp and rotated all the while it was in contact with the object. You would get a mark like that on the crown if your hand was below a glass table top, and hit the edge of the glass top while you moved your hand outward from under the table to the top of it.

If the watch had this mark when it was bought from the seller, you must take it back, given that its only a couple of weeks old. You can get the crown changed. I do not think it is possible to buff out this kind of a ding without making the crown grip and the logo blunt.

Do let us know how it went!

Best Regards

Sumit

I have to say I am a little disappointed. It was the one of the first things I noticed about the watch, but at that point I was so exited about the gift it somehow did not bother me that much.

I'm 100% sure the watch had the mark before I got it. My wife bought it in Finland but currently we are in France. Later next week we are going to Switzerland, perhaps the IWC store in Geneva can help me.

Here is another picture of the crown.

Thanks Summit for all your help. Do you think the crown will be changed or will I get a new watch?

Best regards

Wills

Hi Wills,

Don't worry, this issue has a simple fix! I think you can get the crown replaced. Not much of a big problem.

Since you are visiting Switzerland next week, You could visit their service center directly, or an IWC boutique. In France you could visit the Paris boutique. The details are in the "Retail & Service" section of this portal.

You could also you write to IWC. They are quite helpful and will guide you as to what needs to be done next!

Best Regards,

Sumit

The crown is marked because someone wound it up by dragging it along the edge of something hard like stone or granite. The watch repair people I have seen do this on their wooden work benches especially with HW models. It will mark when someone uses surfaces like hard kitchen work tops or display cabinets in retailers, that is my educated guess. That method of winding is unauthorised but in the hands of the inexperienced causes damage whilst in experienced hands who know the pressure required it should be harmless.

Hi everyone.

I was in Monaco two days ago and visited an authorised IWC dealer. They took a look at the watch and were quite shocked. The crown was one thing but they could not believe the whirring sound the watch made.

They were even more shocked to hear that the watch was brand new. Their best guess was a "mechanical failure" and that it probably existed before i got it. They ruled out physical mistreatment as this kind of damage would need a very hard hit resulting in a visible mark/bump.

I don't know what to say anymore.

Best regards

Wills

Gosh Wills, I'm so sorry to read about your predicament. Have you tried contacting the original vendor to discuss options? If it's a mechanical failure, I'm sure they will be happy to offer you a reasonable recourse.

I hope things turn out well in the end. Whatever it is, don't let it spoil your trip!

Wills, I feel very sympathic to your problem, but something does not stack up here. The watch, I am sure, could not have left the factory with these problems. The 12 hour date change is so elimentary, was the Findland shop an IWC Authorised Dealer?

Could the mechanical problem be due to forcible overwinding during the same scratch that left a permanent mark on the crown? I am surprised about the crown scratch, looks like a very neat single line around the crown without any dents or anything. One way this could have happened is if somebody grabbed the crown with pliers or something metallic. I do not see how a ceramic top, granite or glass doing this without other damage to the crown or watch.

Then there is another question, why would a dealer authorized or not sell this to a customer? As David said, something is not adding up here...

Ray