They look great! While I fear most will be
beyond my budget, like so many others here I sure like the blue Perpetual. I'd like it even better with the single moon design.
I find myself wondering if the manual Portuguese is destined to appear in additional dial color combinations.
Haha, in bright daylight ,-)
Really Large watches are just a fad
i wish for more watches in 40mm range too as my wrist is rather small. Also really big watches trend is just a fad that will go away fairly quickly. Looking at it from strictly utilitarian perspective, very large watches in gold or platinum are quite heavy and are prone to get dings more easily.
Most are just getting too large to be an elegant
gold watch.
sales figures may be the acid test...
...at least for a watch company that is in the business of selling watches.
But I understand and respect your personal perspective. Personally, I do find larger watches as easier to read, and therefore would balance your utilitarian argument. But if I were running a watch company I'd offer some more variety for appeal to broader markets --although when IWC has experimented here, it hasn't worked as well as hoped.
In all events I don't think IWC should be faulted for making what sells.
Regards,
Michael
My most elegant watch is my 46mm Portofino....
I've never had anyone say --at least yet-- that the platinum Vintage Collection Portofino Moonphase isn't elegant. It might be too large for some people, at least as they perceive size, but I'm not sure size and elegance are necessarily correlated.
Regards,
Michael
But again, nothing for the smaller wrists,
Martijn--
I couldn't agree more--45 mm is just too large, in my opinion, whatever the dimensions of one's wrist.
But the new Portuguese Ref. 5001 (silver-plated idal and gold-plated hands) has swept me off my feet--and at 42.3 mm, it's not too large for comfort.
I'd better start saving now--this one will definitely be my second IWC!
Cheers! to all Forum members.
Donald
maybe a "soft launch" --and more info later? ,) NT
Watch size and comfort
Although I have the 5001 (blued hands, silver dial) myself, I find the Aquatimer Split Minute that is 44 mm in diameter and a few mm higher too, more comfortable on the wrist.
There is more to comfort than just the diameter and as for legibility, there is nothing better than the Big Pilot or the Portuguese Automatic.
Kind regards,
Clemens
Fantastic Start to SIHH
I cannot wait to see some of the other surprises. As others have expressed I would also like to see some smaller watches among the novelties but at least in the portuguese family, there is an historical context for the large sizes.
Best regards,
Dan
Portuguese have been around for 70 years now.
That seems like a little longer than "fairly quickly"...
Yes...my first thoughts too
IMO a great refresh to a classic line, although I'm not quite sure how the "Sportuguese" fits in here. It is, in itself, lovely but I feel it sits uneasily as a "Portuguese".
The midnight blue dial PPC is stunning, oh dear, I feel I need to start saving hard!
Really looking forward to seeing these for real.
Ross
But, were it the right experiments?
The smaller watches IWC produced in the last years where indeed no big sellers, but the design was also different to the bigger watches. I really think that a smaller watch with a design that really represents the line (portuguese, ingenieur etc) with real vallue, that is a inhouse movement, it would sell well
I think my 44mm VC Port is elegant as well but...
these two watches are very slender , around 10mm. The new pieces will be 44mm and 15mm so they are 50% thicker which in my humble opinion makes them wear very large and gaudy, especially in gold.
I am a large guy with almost 8 inch wrists, so I can wear large pieces quite easily. Yet I still feel my 5002 is BIG, but it's supposed to be. And my 5001RG is at the very edge of my large gold watch comfort level but I still find it sublime
Just personal preference I guess.
But believe me, I would happily accept one of the new ones as a gift. ,<)
Portuguese have been around for 70 years now.
Good point. To clarify, my original comments were not aimed at Jubilee and Port automatic, which are perhaps the best looking watches ever. I was commenting on the really large watch trend of 43mm . It may be the case that very large watches (43 mm ) are selling well. However, I think that having a version of the same watch in the 40-42mm range will result in more sales and hedge bets if current consumer tastes change.
fair point, but...
For the Ingenieurs, there were two smaller versions --including a 40mm-- that looked very much like the larger models. They were relatively slow sellers. Even the regular Ingenieur at 42mm became a slow seller over time --and now the larger ones are selling better.
For the Portuguese, I consider much smaller ones (perhaps at less than 40.9mm) to be crimes against nature --they violate the very essence of a "pocket watch for the wrist".
As hinted below, there may be a 42mm Portuguese out with a "soft launch".
True, but ..
it is not all about diameter. Length including the lugs and the shape of the case are important too.
I'm impressed...
... by this new line up op Portuguese models. Very nice and consistant all the way. It will be hard to choose one, but I'm quite sure that it will be a Portuguese watch that will be added next to my collection. My compliments IWC!
This is a great news! Thank you MF! nt
I agree with you Tilo...
I love the new GC but I miss the 7 days PR display
Yes, but there's another dimension....
The most classic Portuguese, and those that built the name, are the original Ref. 325, and the Jubilee. If memory serves (I don't have my calipers handy), these were both around 42mm x 12mm. A mm here and a mm there can make a huge difference. Many of today's watches in the line run 45mm x 16mm. When they are placed side by side,the new ones really do tend to look a bit "steroidal". In my perception, the difference is more about height than diameter.
As MF points out below, the "Giant Portofino Moonphase" is very wearable and elegant at 46mm, partly because it is not much more than 10mm tall.
Regards,
David
Sounds perfect. I'm eagerly waiting for that one
IWC please, make it available in stainles steel classic design. Do resist the urge to play with subdial colours.
Definitely David, thickness is a killer!
Cheers from Isobars.
Most definitely, and...
...looking forward to what is next!
My personal favorites so far are the Yacht club which has added some fresh air to the line, but also the stunning blue dialed PPC and the Retrograde Tourbillion.
Cheers,
Evan