Tuesday, December 17, 2013

IWC Portuguese Jubilee - 1868 to 1993

The IWC Portuguese Jubilee. One of may favorite timepieces.

Simple watches are probably the most difficult to make - how to make an iconic and instantaneously recognizable three handed watch? Well to mark their 125th Anniversary, IWC came up with the Portuguese Jubilee featuring the Calibre 9828 pocket watch movement. I am sure IWC did not start out to create an icon but the watch has garnered much success since.
IWC Portuguese Jubilee photo IWCPortugueseJubileeDial02Eddie.jpg

Reference number 5441, this beauty was made in limited numbers to commemorate 125 years of IWC watchmaking. Released in 1993, one thousand were made in steel, 500 in rose gold and 250 in platinum.
IWC Portuguese Jubilee photo IWCPortugueseJubileeDial03Eddie.jpg

The pocket watch movement is well decorated and well finished. Calibre 9828 manual winding movement beats at 18,000 vph.
IWC Portuguese Jubilee Movement photo IWCPortugueseJubileeMovement02Eddie.jpg

The front crystal is plexiglass which gives the watch a vintage look to it but also adds height to the watch. The encased watch is relatively slim for a watch this size - 42mm. Back in the 1990s, a watch sized at 42mm was considered huge. And I believe it was not an instant hit till much later. The Jubilee is a very close replica of the original Portuguese.
IWC Portuguese Jubilee photo IWCPortugueseJubileeDial01Eddie.jpg

This watch is a keeper for me.

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