Vintage Advice

Hi
I have a friend who is considering buying a Portofino Hand-Wound in stainless steel (544801). He would like to know if there is a limited number that IWC will produce seeing as it is the Vintage collection?
Help appreciated.
Cheers
Stephen

SS Portofino is not limited production.

The PT version is limited. I have the SS on order as it has not shipped to the USA yet.

It is a beautiful watch from the pictures I have seen.

Bill

SS Portofino is not limited production.

thanks bill
hope it doesn't put him off - it's a gorgeous piece.

only in the sense of no pre-established ceilings..

I would guess that production will be small just due to capacity. IWC probably has probably 80 models taking into account basic variations. I doubt that most models are produced annually in 1000 units, given what I know about IWC's total production.

Even the 500 platinum Portofinos won't all be made in one year --production just isn't that high. These are relatively hand-made objects (even if produced in series and with lots of machinery).

I think a classic example is the Big Pilot's Watches --I personally would doubt if there are 5000 of them floating around after 6+ years of production. They can be found but they are not common.

These numbers are just guesses --no inside information is being furnished here.

Regards,
Michael

only in the sense of no pre-established ceilings..

thanks michael

not 100% sure about final production

The Vintage Collection Portofinos we've seen --at SIHH or even at dealer/press events--are actually all prototypes. When I was given my Vintage Da Vinci to wear at SIHH, the asistant product manager told me that the engravings on the case would slightly differ. Frankly I don't recall the rationale nor the specifics of which words.

I would be interested to learn what is engraved on the cases of Vintage Collection models (other than not-yet-delivered Portofinos) which have already been delivered. Rave? Others?

Regards,
Michael

not 100% either ...

But the Portuguese definitely has the "Edition 2008" engraving, the Ingenieur does not. I don't think the Da Vinci has it either. I recall one of the others having the engraving, but I'm not sure which one.

I'll try to check this week.

"Ingenieur 1955" on vintage Inge. back.