IWC Portugieser

Portugieser is the classic line from the Swiss manufacture IWC Schaffhausen. The line appeared in the late 1930s, when Portuguese businessmen commissioned a wristwatch from Schaffhausen with the precision of a marine chronometer. IWC's engineers fitted a large pocket-watch calibre into a wristwatch case — hence the large dial and narrow bezel by which the Portugieser is still recognised today.

The code of the line lies in the dial: applied Arabic numerals, slender leaf-shaped feuille hands and a railway-track (chemin de fer) minute scale around the edge. The narrow bezel gives almost the entire surface to the dial, so it is easy to read. The sub-dials are arranged symmetrically: on the seven-day automatics the small seconds are at 9 o'clock and the power reserve indicator at 3 o'clock.

The Portugieser line includes several families: automatics with a seven-day power reserve, chronographs, models with annual and perpetual calendars, and self-winding and hand-wound tourbillons. Among recent releases is the limited Portuguese Automatic 42mm Year of the Horse from 2026 with a red dial, in an edition of 500 pieces.

The main choices are complication, material and case size. Case materials include stainless steel, rose and white gold, and platinum. These models are men's watches.