IWC - Portuguese Roots
WORLDTEMPUS - 29 September 2010
At the SIHH this past January, it became clear that IWC had declared 2010 its "year of the Portuguese." This watch line, iconic as it is, has a name that most enthusiasts have a hard time divining where it might originate. The company itself, situated in German-speaking Schaffhausen, calls the line the "Portugieser," which means "Portuguese" in German.
The unusual name actually originates in the fact that two Portuguese merchants approached IWC in 1938 in search of a timepiece to be worn on the wrist that could function as accurately as a marine chronometer. This was done since many of their clients had marine-associated professions. Before the era of electronic GPS, the marine chronometer was the sole instrument available to aid sailors in navigation determining both longitude and latitude, therefore allowing them to precisely determine position at sea.
IWC's identity often rests in the association with pilot's watches, typified by the iconic Mark line, the Doppelchronograph, and diverse pilot's watches the company made for various national forces. This marine association is one that tends to remain in the background as the origins of the very classically styled Portuguese family. The first models were manufactured in 1939 in very limited editions for the Portuguese market powered by a 38.5 mm pocket watch caliber. After the end of the war, these 41 mm timepieces also attained cult status in Germany.
The Portuguese's classical styling has a raison d'être: marine chronometers, observation watches, deck watches, and B-watches—which serve as the Portuguese's inspiration—all have one big element in common: they are exceedingly legible so as to clearly be able to see the minutes and seconds at a glance. Additionally, they must be exceedingly accurate in order to avoid danger of misnavigation.
In addition, and quite coincidentally, Portugal was historically home to the world's greatest explorers and navigators: Vasco da Gama, Magellan, and Henry the Navigator proudly served their explorative country. Explorers of other nationalities such as Christopher Columbus were often also in the employ of the Portuguese government. These incredible historical figures used neither GPS nor marine chronometers to find their paths—this instrument did not come into regular use until John Harrison's H4 won England's Longitude Act contest for the most precise timepiece in the late 1700s—but rather traditional techniques such as dead reckoning, coastal navigation, and celestial navigation, whose instruments include the sextant, charts, and a lot of luck and common sense.
In honor of this history and to celebrate the Portuguese of today and yesterday, with the help of ambassador and legendary footballer Luis Figo IWC last week introduced a red gold limited edition model of fifty pieces: the Portuguese Automatic Tribute to Portugal. It is powered by a manufacture IWC movement that includes Pellaton automatic winding and a long-lasting seven-day power reserve.
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