In a few days, at the SIHH, IWC will present several new Portuguese watches. Last week we introduced the Annual Calendar. Today we are presenting the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph.
The most important design change in the new Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph is immediately obvious: the case diameter has been reduced from 45.4 to 43.5 millimetres. IWC has listened to many potential buyers who have expressed the wish for a slightly smaller version of the sportiest model in the Portuguese watch line, one more suitable for a slim wrist. Pleasant to wear and exceptionally rugged, the rubber strap complements the watch’s character: it is slim and sporty.
The robust, IWC-manufactured 89361-chronograph calibre with flyback function and analogue display of stop times longer than a minute on a subdial makes the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph, which is water-resistant to 6 bar, an ideal sailing companion. The signal red seconds hand and the flange with its quarter-second scale for measuring short stop times, together with luminescent hands and indices are an indication of the watch’s sporting qualities. The screw-in crown, protective shoulders and the chronograph push-buttons reminiscent of the bitts found on the decks of sailing ships underscore the special status of the Yacht Club Chronograph in the watch family. Despite its unusual role, the watch remains a dyed-in-the-wool Portuguese. The clearly structured dial with its classic railway-track-style chapter ring, the plain, simple Arabic numerals and slim, leaf-shaped feuille hands: the latest model borrows all these style-defining elements from the original Portuguese of 1939.
The model in the 18-carat red gold case (Ref. IW390501) is now available with a silver-plated dial. The stainless-steel chronograph (Ref. IW390502) also with a silver-plated dial looks no different than its predecessor. In the stainlesssteel version (Ref. IW390503) the slate-coloured dial has been decorated with a sun-pattern finish and, thanks to the black flange – a slightly higher rim – has a colour that sets it apart. Modest modifications to the design have given the chronograph a more luxurious and harmonious appearance.
