Trying out two different versions of Portuguese Chrono's

At an AD in Zermatt, Switzerland, I was given the opportunity to compare two similar Portuguese Chrono's: the Classic and the Yacht Club. Both with a steel case and an ardoise dial. Both are remarkably beautiful in real life. To me the Yacht Club won with a hair's breadth, it just has a bit more bite. The red seconds hand stands out, but it still is a dressy watch too.

The Yacht Club comes with a plain rubber strap, see pictures, but it is also available with a rubber strap with an alligator inlay, which makes the watch look a bit more classy in my opinion.

Not always visible on pictures: the subdials and the date wheel are grey too.

First, a table shot.

And here a double wrist shot.

I did not buy a watch right now, but who knows: this version Yacht Club is a very hot contender!

Kind regards,
Paul

Thanks for the comparison Paul, two magnificent watches indeed and I can see it's hard to choose one.

Kind regards,

Clemens

With the reduction in size of the YC these two are now nearly identical. I wonder if long term, there is a need in IWC's line up for both models? I would personally go with the YC as well.

I also like the Yacht Club. I have tried a pilot strap on my Yacht Club and it worked but with the pin position and design, it really looks best to me on a strap made for the watch (and you like the strap with the alligator inlay so you have some options). And I agree, the Yacht Club has more bite (with or without the alligator).

It's basically a toss up. Can't go wrong either way. But I agree with your choice.

Formal VS Casual. Personally I like the Santoni strap on the classic model but the watch face looks smaller than the Yacht one.

Diversity is everything here. The classic is classic, the Yacht Club is the "Sportuguese". That's perfect product management. I'd prefer a bigger version still available for the YC. To me the old version red gold with the ardoise sunburst dial was perfect, though above my price range.
But anyway, I already got the 45 mm steel model and couldn't be happier with it.
The new one is just a little bit too small for me.
But the ardoise dial is a real blast! If there were both sizes on offer, that would be perfect for the customer to choose. I really wonder which one would win.
2 fantastic watches, Paul: A great comparison to see them side by side on your wrists!

Hi Paul,

Both great watches indeed! The YC in this new Ardoise version with it's smaller size is my favorite watch since SIHH!!!! Last week at the Boutique in Amsterdam I could compare it to the new world timer, did you see that?!

Best regards,

Bob