IWC Steel Strap Watches

IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days Caliber 59210 (Ref. 5101)One of my most favored Swiss watchmakers is prepping a number of new timepieces for the upcoming SIHH 2011 even. The new IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days Caliber 59210 watch (Ref. 5101) is among them.Playing on the crowded field of “affordable” dress watches, IWC Portofino has always been somewhat of an ugly duck in the family of beautiful swans.Now, however, the model is updated and seems to be moved a tad upmarket.The new IWC Portofino Hand-Wound 8 Days will be the most expensive model in the line-up, which will also include a Portofino Automatic (Ref. 3565,) Portofino Chronograph (Ref. 3910,) and Portofino Dual Time (Ref. 3610) GMT watch.Having successfully absorbed the core DNA of the recently refreshed IWC Portuguese family, the new model features a similar dial layout, is powered by an in-house Caliber 59210 manual-wind movement, and will soon be available both in stainless steel and in rose gold.The movement in question belongs to the Cal. 50000 family of engines and, being almost 38 millimeters in diameter, is rather large.Sporting a set of massive bridges and plates, the movement will possibly be especially sturdy and robust compared to calibers built with gentler, thinner, less rigid parts.Of course, the pocket watch-sized manual-wind mechanical movement has enough room for an oversized mainspring barrel which is capable of powering the watch for up to 192 hours.That is more than enough even if you plan to wear the timepiece only on weekends.If you, like me, belong to the neurotic part of the population that checks the fuel gauge every three minutes even if the tank is still three quarters full, then a beautifully executed power reserve indicator located between 8 and 9 o’clock may come extremely handy to you.Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands, solid gold hour indexes, as well as the small seconds indicator at 6 o’clock, also look extremely elegant.The Roman numeral at 12 o’clock may raise some eyebrows, but, all in all, this generation of the IWC Portofino family has a good chance of becoming one of the most popular since the line was introduced in 1984.If the price is right, that is.

There's nothing wrong with buying watches that you can afford thanks to hard work. But then again, wouldn't it be better to buy something which will in turn give you a chance to contribute to a good cause?This is exactly what you will experience when you get the IWC Automatic for Laureus Sport for Good Foundation watch. This is a luxury watch which will at least ease off some of the guilt you get when buying a really expensive watch since it is for a good cause. This is actually the fourth edition in the IWC-Laureus Sport for Good Foundation series.The watch is based on the IWC Portuguese Automatic and sports a blue dial and matching leather strap that adds to its elegance. The watch, which is a collaboration between IWC and Laureus Foundation, carries the idea that there is an alternative to the vicious cycles of drug addiction, poverty, disease and violence.This watch will be available on a limited edition basis with only 1,000 pieces to be offered worldwide. Each of the watch will have a distinct number which is engraved on the case back. It also features the "team spirit" medallion showcasing the image of children with interlinked arms.