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IWC Pays Respect To Year Of The Dragon 2024 With New Limited Edition Portugieser Watch

There are many types of watches which you could peruse from. You could buy a dive watch like the Tudor Pelagos, a pilot’s watch like the GMT-Master II or a sensual chronometer like the iconic Omega Speedmaster with Master Chronometer classification.

However, you seasoned horophiles may grow tired of the norm. Why not indulge yourself in something with vintage classicism, a red hot take on classic design and a cultural reference so profound, it puts The Sputnik out of business!

So, they have made your wildest dreams come true. Combining the incredible history of one of their most storied collections, The Portugieser (Sacha Baron Cohen has rocked the IW371610), this latest iteration has a deep lying connection with the Lunar New Year. Traditional, classic and strength to outshine the Hulk, all of these attributes are embodied in this model.

Without further exposure of this fire breathing dynamo, Chrono Hunter is doing you the favour of exposing the intricacies behind the new IWC Portugieser Year Of The Dragon 2024.

Background Behind The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon

Ever thought that Portugieser looks and sounds an awful lot like “Portugal”? Well, there may just be some truth behind that!

Ref. 325 - Source - The Beautiful Watch

Dating back to the 1930s when World War II was starting alongside the Great Depression (not a particularly upbeat time!), it was created when two businessmen named Rodrigues and Teixeira from Portugal came to IWC in search of a timepiece that would revolutionise the dress watch world.

They were interested in searching for a stainless steel timepiece that had the capability to reach the same chronometric certification of a marine chronometer. In the 1930s, it seemed that the only chance to get such a piece was in the form of a pocket watch.

Luckily, the gents over at the Schaffhausen brand are incredibly switched on, resulting in them taking a 74-calibre bar movement from a pocket watch and manipulating it into a wristwatch. This model arrived in 43mm of stainless steel and vastly overshadowed the average case sizes of other wristwatches from 1939. Averaging between 33mm to 35mm, that’s a rise of around 26%.

These watches may have had the same bulk of a Panerai Luminor, but they were defined by incredibly elegant design codes. Featuring minimalist faces with prominent Arabic hour markers, the bezels were exceptionally thin in order to promote the immense legibility of the dial.

While the innovation behind the line was sizable and new movements like the 892 and 304 were introduced, it lacked the public appeal. This eventually resulted in what would appear a silent exit stage left in the 1980s. However, during the 90s, the legendary Kurt Klaus was caught wearing the gorgeous Ref. 325 while waltzing around their headquarters. As such, he unwittingly became an ambassador and the collection was pushed back out into the public.

For the 125th anniversary of the brand, an entire line of Portugieser watches were released. Named ref 5441, they were capped at 1750 pieces and came in materials like stainless steel, rose gold and platinum. These Jubilee watches offered a sapphire caseback allowing first time view at the movements. In 2000, the first watches from the line with in-house movements were made, featuring the genius Pellaton system, previously invented by Albert Pellaton in the 1950s.

The Pellaton movement allows the rotor to be placed on a sprung plate, offering a great degree of shock resistance. Using pawls as opposed to gears between rotor and barrel, the gear train is separated from potential shocks as both pawls pull the barrel. Right. That’s the nitty gritty of the line. Below is a little history behind Chinese New Year. As it’s not completely horological related, we’ll get to the essentials and what you need to know in order to understand its association with this novelty.

Chinese New Year - The Dragon

A festival that runs for 15 days following the appearance of a new moon that occurs between January 21st and February 20th, The Lunar New Year celebrates the arrival of Spring and the start of a New Year as defined by the lunisolar calendar.

The Dragon - Source - Parade

As the most important holiday in China, the celebration is globally noted and celebrated. For each year, there is a new animal that dominates festivities. Totalling 12 animals from an Ox to a Dog, once the 12 animals are done, the cycle repeats, starting with the Rat and ending with the Pig.

This year is the celebration of The Dragon! Last celebrated in 2012, the Dragon comes with a range of characteristics, including lucky, flexible, imaginative, spiritual and charismatic. James Bond, eat your heart out! The Dragon is the male element, Yang. It’s the only mythical creature out of all the animals used. How’s this for a fact; It’s understood that Chinese babies are most often born in the Dragon era than in the year of any other animals.

Okay. That's quite enough of the mythical background and cultural comprehension. Why don’t we get into the actual build behind the stunning IWC Portugieser Year Of The Dragon.

Construction Of The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon

Dynamic and brimming with more spirit than your average drinks cabinet, The Chinese Dragon inspired model is not the first of their attempts to incorporate the Chinese New Year.

Source - IWC

In 2023, the brand released a striking Portugieser Automatic, in celebration of the Year Of The Rabbit. In this instance, a Rabbit emblem was designed into the rotor. Featuring a burgundy face with gold appliques, you may notice a few similarities between the Rabbit and The Dragon.

Crafted in a 41mm stainless steel case, the watches have a thickness of around 13mm which isn’t too ostentatious for a collection that’s noted for its bulbous heritage. Given a similar thickness to the Submariner ref. 126610LV at 12mm and smaller than the 15.65mm thick Panerai Luminor Marina 44mm PAM01313, this should slip under your suit shirt cuffs nicely when clinching that deal.

Continuing the very thin bezel trend within the collection, it is expertly polished, alongside the tops of the lugs and the pushers. Did we say pushers? Hang on a second…you heard right. This model is fitted with both sporty and impactful chronograph functionality!

Interestingly, although the timepiece features sporty functions like the chronograph, it’s definitely more of a dress piece than a model for active wear. Lacking any luminescence on the face and only capable of reaching 30 metres of water resistance, it may not be one for trekking through mountainous terrains or plunging the depths of the ocean waters like the Omega Ploprof 1200M Summer Blue.

Nevertheless, it’s certainly one for style and the fashion conscious among you when in the boardroom or flashing smiles at your local hotspot. The dial is given a burgundy sheen, just like the previous Year Of The Rabbit variation. It may not be luminescent, but the gold plated appliques visibility stand out.

These limited edition watches feature dual chronograph subdials in the unorthodox positioning of 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock. These gently snailed sub-counters relate to a chronograph 30-minute reader at 12 o’clock and a small seconds reader based at 6 o’clock.

The Arabic numerals and leaf-style hands are gold plated, in keeping with the dotted minute track that runs around the periphery of the dial and the quarter-second scale on the flange. But we are not done yet. Flip it over to expose the sapphire case back that allows you a view into the clever, in-house 69355 movement.

Technical Features Of The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon

Housing the 69355 calibre, this in-house movement is an automatic self-winding calibre. Made up of 206 components and fitted with 27 jewels, the watches offer a 46 hour power reserve and a solid 28,800VpH. Not quite weekend-proof but this is without doubt a sexy little number that is versatile and beaming with red dial goodness.

Source - IWC

Running small hacking seconds alongside chronograph functionality in the form of minutes and seconds, the watches are fitted with a column wheel and fitted with a bi-directional pawl-winding system.

Luckily, we can take a look at the movement through the sapphire caseback. Fitted with Dragon inspired emblems on the gold-plated rotor, it is built into the shape of a Dragon, demonstrating the skill behind the craftsmen. Furthermore, the caseback displays text showing its limited edition lusciousness. This reads as follows;

YEAR OF THE DRAGON. 2024
Number of the model in the form of 001/1000.
3 BAR representing the water resistance.

What’s Our View Of The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon?

Jackie Chan may have Entered The Dragon in 1973. But we think that this timepiece is a brilliant integration of both Chinese culture and the legacy of this most classic of lineups.

Source - IWC

It’s a pleasant surprise every time they release a limited edition timepiece that's steeped in history. From last year, they released the gorgeous Big Pilot Tourbillon Markus Bühler with a manipulated tourbillon to look like a turbine and the sublime Pilot’s performance Chronograph timepiece is Ceratanium with Mercedes Benz F1 inspiration.

Fresh for 2024’s celebrations, the limited edition Portugieser reference takes Chinese New Year celebrations and bolsters the storied collection. Developing from the Year Of The Rabbit edition, they don't present any huge changes (which is a slight shame). They do feature an extra chronograph sub-counter at 12 o’clock and a new movement that adds 16 more components to the calibre, 4 less jewels and 14 less hours on the power reserve from 60 to 46. Sigh.

The Year of The Rabbit was capped at 500 watches while this latest iteration is capped at 1000. The Year Of The Rabbit may have a stronger power reserve and have slightly more rarity due to its lower production numbers, but The Dragon reference features a very useful chronograph complication at 12 o’clock.

We recommend you solely wear this model for special events with a slick black suit or off red toned shirt to enhance your wrist. Its lack of luminescence and water resistance means this may not be the best piece for outdoor operations. However, it’s rich burgundy dial and golden trim is perfect for red carpet strolls and black suits with cocktail glasses.

In addition, the watches are also larger than their predecessor by 0.6mm and 0.7mm thicker. This isn’t a huge change, but offers more visibility for the gent who wants to flaunt his wrist wear. While we could deliberate between the past and the present, allow us to summarise both the positives and negatives we found with this limited edition timepiece:

Pros:

Red hot burgundy dial
Brilliant link to the 1995 Portugieser with dual chronograph sub-counter functionality at 12 and 6 o’clock.
Limited to 1000 pieces, making this a possible investment piece.

Cons:

Not much innovation from the Year Of The Rabbit model
Could’ve used a more exciting material like titanium or a precious metal
Movement could be arguably deciphered as weaker than the predecessor as it has dropped 14 hours of power reserve.

Other Specs Of The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon

You Timelords are constantly looking to move forwards with no time to wait or waste. So we’ve collated the key stats to allow you to quickly make an informed purchasing decision:

Reference Number	IW371629
Dial Colour	Burgundy
Strap	Black Calfskin Leather Strap or red rubber.
Material	Stainless Steel
Movement	69355 chronograph calibre
Functions	Small Hacking Seconds, Chronograph functions, general timekeeping.
Case Back	Sapphire crystal
Water Resistance	30 metres
Case Thickness	13mm
Diameter	41mm
Crystal	Sapphire
COSC Certified?	No
Power Reserve	46 hours
Number of Jewels	27
Bracelet/Strap Material	Leather
Limited Edition	Yes, 1000 watches
Strap Width	20mm

Where Can You Buy An IWC Portugieser Chronograph Year Of The Dragon

You can buy an IWC Portugieser Year Of The Dragon at retail for £7,400 as of January 2024.

Conclusion

The conclusion is nigh and we’ve discovered the ins and outs of the inspired Portugieser chronograph. It’s good knowing the details, but do you think you should buy one?

Well, Chrono Hunter has run through the background of the line, the importance of the Chinese New Year, its influence on the timepiece and its inherent rarity due to its limited edition run. We think if you want a culturally rich timepiece and a taste of the Orient this could be for you!

It continues on the legacy of the legendary collection, including the superb circular case and the minimalist dial. With the added chronograph subdials complications at 12 and 6 o’clock, the model has an extra dimension of technical quality, but the beauty is still retained through the combination of the burgundy dial and golden hues on the Arabic numerals, minute track and leaf shaped hands.

With a solid movement that utilises the classic pawl-winding system from Albert Pellaton, an average 46 hour power reserve and a hardy beat of 28,800VpH, the watches are robust, but you shouldn't leave them off for a weekend trip away.

The 1000 watch cap may pose a problem for those looking to buy at retail as they may be snapped up by the end of this sentence. If you have any horological insight, you’ll know the secondary market is the way forward. For such a turbulent marketplace, there’s only one place you can go for the best deals possible on sought after models by a plethora of high quality retailers.

Chat with Chrono Hunter here to ensure you get the best offers through a range of top quality vetted retailers while avoiding the perils of going it alone or pounding the streets in vain. Available on both Android and Apple devices, why not log on via our dedicated app and speak with our established network of luxury retailers today.

Similarly, you can benefit from an exceptionally experienced team that understands the secondary market and luxury watch brands like no other. Clued up on everything from straps to tourbillons, they know everything that's essential to horophiles ensuring you save time and money!

"Gong hei fat choy" (恭喜发财)

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