The history of the IWC Portugieser dates back to the late 1930's, when two Portuguese businessmen ordered wristwatches with the precision of marine chronometers from International Watch Co. Back then, the only way to achieve that level of accuracy was using a large pocket watch caliber. IWC took a 74 caliber hunter pocket watch movement and put it in a large wristwatch case. Since wristwatches were much smaller back then, the watch was ahead of its time. It measured 42mm in diameter.
The original watch developed into the Ref 325, which was produced for many years. It was not very popular. Here are a few from the 1940's:
In 1993, at IWC's 125th anniversary, the watch was reborn under the name Portugieser (technically, at that time, it was Portuguese, and later to become
Portugieser). Known as the Jubilee, it was a limited edition Reference 3441. It was also 42mm in diameter.
Since then, the Portugieser has flourished. In 2005, IWC presented twelve new Portugiesers. At that time, the Portugieser name was introduced instead of the earlier Portuguese).
The 2017 catalog continues to include 12 Portugieser models:
The original watch developed into the Ref 325, which was produced for many years. It was not very popular. Here are a few from the 1940's:
In 1993, at IWC's 125th anniversary, the watch was reborn under the name Portugieser (technically, at that time, it was Portuguese, and later to become
Portugieser). Known as the Jubilee, it was a limited edition Reference 3441. It was also 42mm in diameter.
Since then, the Portugieser has flourished. In 2005, IWC presented twelve new Portugiesers. At that time, the Portugieser name was introduced instead of the earlier Portuguese).
The 2017 catalog continues to include 12 Portugieser models:
