IWC Review: 5007-01 7-Day Power Reserve

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PlanetZoom

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Executive Summary (aka: the most important information in this review):

This is a great watch. NWBIG IMO. Enjoy the photos.

First off, what’s up with the name of this watch?

This watch is often called the Seven Day Power Reserve. This is because… wait for it….it has a seven day power reserve. Makes sense? So far, so good.

But that’s not the real name of the watch. The official name is the Portuguese Automatic. Or the Portugieser Automatic. I always get these two names confused (the Portuguese part, not the Automatic part). So I use them interchangeably. More on that later.

Some History

The first IWC watch with a seven day power reserve was the “Portugieser Automatic 2000.” The Automatic 2000 was produced from 2000 to 2002 and was known as the Ref 5000. Why Ref 5000 for the 2000? Probably because it was powered by a Caliber 5000.

Here’s a pic of the Ref 5000:


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In 2004, the “Automatic 2000” was replaced by the “Automatic.” And the Ref 5000 was replaced with the Ref 5001. The 5001 was a bit bigger, featured a new movement, and added a date feature.

So how do we get to the 5007-01?

The Ref 5001-01 featured a rose gold case and a silver dial. It was produced from 2004 to 2010.

In 2010, the 5001-01 was replaced by the Ref 5001-13. The -13 had a red gold case instead of a rose gold case. It was produced from 2010 to 2015.

In 2015, the Ref 5001-13 was replaced by the Ref 5007-01.

Also in 2015, in an effort to confuse people, IWC changed the Portuguese name to Portugieser. In fairness, IWC has not yet officially confirmed that the purpose of the name change was to cause widespread confusion.

Visually, the 5001 and 5007 are very similar. There are some minor differences. Some people may think they are major. They aren’t.


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Inside, the new movement of the 5007 has two winding barrels instead of one. It also features ceramic parts for the automatic winding mechanism. All well and good, but not applicable to the rep. So let’s move on.

Here are some stats on the 5001 and 5007:

5001:
42.3 mm x 13.9 mm
Caliber 51010
44 jewels
21600 bph

5007:
42.3 mm x 14.5 mm
Caliber 52010
31 jewels
28800 bph

Fewer jewels, more beats….talk about efficiency!f

Here’s a gen 5007-01:





The Rep: Stats

This rep is the ZF v4.

Here are the stats from a dealer website:

Size: 42mm x 14mm

Movement: Base Movement: Asian 23J automatic movement;

Decoration: Platinum plated movement plate and rotor which are made according to the genuine movement, the best looking IWC 52010 Movement Clone at the moment.

Functions: Hours, minutes, sub-seconds, power reserve and date display

Case: Rose Gold Plated Solid 316L stainless steel case

Crystal: Scratch-proof sapphire crystal with AR coating

Dial: White dial

Bezel: Stainless steel bezel

Strap: Brown leather strap

Clasp: Deployant buckle

Don’t believe everything you read

The dimensions listed on the dealer site are incorrect. According to my trusty calipers, the watch is 42.5 mm x 14.2 mm. That’s a bit bigger than the 42 x 14 shown on the dealer site. And it’s closer to the official stats for the gen of 42.3 x 14.5.

This is a great rep

The ZF v4 is the closest to gen version of this watch.

According to the dealer website, it has been replicated from a genuine sample.

Here are some comparison photos:


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The Strap

Reps straps are typically bad. One of the biggest not-so-secret secrets to dramatically improving a rep is to replace the rep strap. This one has a Camille Fournet strap on it. CF straps are expensive but well worth the investment.

Check out the combination of watch and strap.


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The strap looks delicious in sun light. If it were edible…


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PlanetZoom

PlanetZoom

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Jan 20, 2018
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Deployant Buckle

It took me a while to get used to deployant buckles. Now I really dig them. They’re a lot easier than messing with a tang buckle.


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The Dial

This dial is clean and crisp. Very pleasing to the eyes.


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Let’s get in closer

Seconds sub-dial


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Seven day reserve sub-dial


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In case you are wondering, the reserve on the rep is not 7 days.


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PlanetZoom

PlanetZoom

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Jan 20, 2018
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This shot reminds me of the beginning of Star Wars Episode IV, where the screen fills in from above with an Imperial Star Destroyer. I saw that in the theater when it first came out. It was awesome.


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Movement

I’ve read that the movements can be a bit noisy on these watches. This one is super quiet. I bought it m2m. Maybe the seller had silenced it.


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Now let’s flip the rotor over


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Different lighting


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On the Wrist

So what does it look like on the wrist?


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Are there any downsides?

There are two downsides to the watch.

One is the plating. That’s a pro and a con. It’s a pro because it looks good. It’s a con because plating on reps tends not to last. I don’t wear the watch very often and I try to be careful when I wear it. So far, the plating has held up nicely.

The other downside is that the watch is so beautiful, it can be distracting. Sometimes I find myself staring at it instead of doing something productive.

Overall Rating

Two thumbs up.
 
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