iwc iw544402

IWC Portuguese F.A Jones Squelette (Ref. 544205 and Ref. 544206)The IWC Portuguese F.A Jones Squelette skeletonized watch is equipped with a rare Caliber 98910 manual-wind movement, which is based on a vintage pocket watch caliber developed almost 135 years ago.This is not the only IWC Portuguese, which is dedicated to a certain F.A. Jones of Boston, Massachusetts, who founded the International Watch Company back in 1868. Earlier this year, at SIHH 2010 international trade show, the Swiss manufacturer also introduced their IWC Portuguese Tourbillon Manual-Wind watch (Ref. IW5447) that sported an “F.A.Jones” facsimile counterweighting the visual bulkiness of the tourbillon complication.Although, for some a known reason, most blogs tend to pitch the IWC Portuguese F.A Jones Squelette as a “new” watch, it is not so.The model in question was introduced more than five years ago exclusively for IWC Boutiques and was delivered in platinum (50 units, $58,000, Ref. 544205) and red gold (100 units, $43,000, Ref. 544206) versions.The watch is, probably, not selling terribly well, so the Swiss watchmaker’s PR department must have decided to draw some attention to the beautiful timepiece.The watch is powered by the IWC Caliber 98910 hand-wound movement, which, judging by the looks of it, is directly related to the vintage F.A. Jones movement from the 1870s that was the first in the brand’s history and is still used in some of IWC watches. As just about everyone already copy-pasted from IWC’s PR blurb, the movement’s main point of interest is that it employs an elongated index to regulate the balance hairspring.If you are into skeletonized watches and have financial means, then you should probably hurry to get one, since the timepiece is about to become a horological rarity.

IWC Portofino Dual Time in Rose Gold (Ref.IW361004)The new IWC Portofino Dual Time automatic GMT watch will be presented in a number of versions, but it looks the best in rose gold and black.As we have already reported, this year the Swiss watchmaker is going to put much effort into promotion of its entry-level Portofino line of timepieces.Besides the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days Caliber 59210 (Ref. 5101) that we have briefly reviewed last week, the company will also start selling a number of other watches, including a gorgeous IWC Portofino Dual Time.Available both in rose gold and stainless steel, the watch will be presented in a larger case measuring 45.00 mm in diameter and only 12.00 millimeters thick.The timekeeper with GMT functionality will be powered by IWC’s new Caliber 64710 automatic movement. There is still not enough info regarding this engine, but it is known that it will offer an impressive power reserve of 72 hours (3 days) and will be built on 29 rubies.After an unstoppable torrent of low-end watches powered by tried-and-true, but oh-so-boring ETA workhorses, the new Portofino line, which is animated by in-house calibers, looks like a breath of fresh air.Since the watch comes in an oversized case, reminding us about the times when a great deal of Swiss timekeepers was powered by movements outsourced from pocket watches, there is a lot of real estate on the Portofino’s black dial.IWC used the available square inches wisely, not overwhelming future customers with too much information.There are only two sub-dials on the dial: a 24-hour GMT indicator at 12 o’clock and a subsidiary seconds counter at 6 o’clock.The small corporate logo is perfectly counterbalanced with small date aperture at 3 o’clock and the thin, long leaf-shaped hour and minute hands look especially elegant together with long hour indexes made of rose gold.Since the metal looks especially nice if mixed with brown, IWC equipped the watch with a chocolate brown leather strap made by the Italian shoemaker Santoni.Not sure, how much this gadget is going to cost, but I definitely want one.