A series of «Portuguese» - precision course for success

"The brave explorers, noble people ..."- this phrase is the national anthem through the Swiss men's watches IWC «Portuguese». This expression is the memory of all the great navigators of Portugal - Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias and Ferdinand Magellan - are still living in the hearts of the people and to this day. Excellent management skills sailing ships, the ability to use precision instruments, such as charts and astrolabe to determine their latitude at sea, allowed the Mariners to start traveling for bold geographic discoveries in West Africa and sail across oceans. Pioneers of Portuguese maritime managed to reconcile the seemingly incompatible opposites: their hot temper with cold calculation; uncommon courage with respect to the forces of nature, history, and all that was new in science and technology for the day. Opening a series of «Portuguese» from IWC are a distant echo of a glorious past. They combine the tradition of marine instruments with modern design and advanced machinery.

More than 500 years later, in late 1930, two Portuguese businessman who sought in the watch industry brand of high-tech watches, visited the plant IWC in Schaffhausen. They ordered IWC wristwatch in stainless steel housing with precision marine chronometers. At that time the only mechanism to satisfy their request, was a cumbersome mechanism pocket watch, so the IWC decided to take one of the mechanisms hunter (who also had a crown-oriented to be worn on the right hand) in the case for wrist wear. First «Portuguese» 1939 became the founders of a new line of IWC, watches, whose precision accuracy, encased in oversized case with complex mechanics, is a source of pleasure watch enthusiasts around the world for over 70 years.

 At the Basel watch show in 1967, IWC introduced the «Yacht Club Automatic», high-tech men's watch, which were well adapted to overcome the hardships of life in the stormy sea. Their mechanism is spring-loaded type and mounted on platinum with rubber buffers, making it doubly resistant to shocks. This meant that the mechanism of the caliber 8541 was able to move, regardless of external influence, neutralizing any shocks and vibrations. Version in steel was water-resistant 100 meters, in a gold-to 60 meters. Exclusive, durable and ideal for everyday use, these amazing timepieces «Yacht Club Automatic» became one of the top best-selling Swiss watch company IWC.
 To mark its 125th anniversary in 1993, IWC Schaffhausen, of reincarnated 50 years later striking watch «Portuguese», releasing a special limited edition. The mechanism of 9828 caliber, established specifically for this limited edition is based on the legendary 98-caliber pocket watch mechanism and for the first time it can be seen through the sapphire crystal on the back cover.
 In 2000, after five years of design IWC presented «Portuguese Automatic» with IWC-5000 caliber. This is an exciting mix of traditional and new technologies IWC. Among other things, imposing «Portuguese Automatic» the size of a pocket watch include bi-directional crown crown Pellaton and rocker springs on the type «Breguet» for maximum accuracy. New development mechanism has a seven-day power reserve indicator with power reserve and shows a giant technological leap in the history of automatic mechanisms.
Perpetual Calendar «Portuguese Automatic» 2003, which is a recent development of a new mechanism perpetual calendar serves as further proof of the innovative policy of Swiss IWC. In 2005, after the founder of Schaffhausen watch company has released limited edition wristwatch chronometers «Portuguese F. A. Jones». Watches combine authenticity and tradition of IWC until the last minute detail. By 2007 the family «Portuguese» is welcomed into its ranks prominent representatives of the world's high-time engineering: perpetual calendar, minute repeater and tourbillon soaring. At this point, they were joined by another extravagant example of the first hour of class: a regulator with a separate display hours, minutes and seconds. In 2008, «Portuguese Hand-Wound» with manual winding mechanism was put into production within the IWC Vintage Collection. With their curved glass and bezel, reminiscent of the railroad tracks, and arch-edged shell, watches bear a striking resemblance to the original 1939, which, by the standards of the time, was an example of art from a technical point of view.

 In 2010, the IWC yet another anniversary series «Portuguese» was marked by an extensive line of exciting new models. The flagship of the collection is «Portuguese Grande Complication», which complicated the first time applied to the «Portuguese» turbiyonom «Mystère» retrograde type. It combines the magic of floating tourbillon with the logic of the date of returning to its original position. Combining the echoes of earlier styles, «Portuguese» hand winding mechanism serves as a bridge between past and present family «Portuguese», a chronograph «Yacht Club Automatic» is the first model, which introduces a touch of sportiness to the lineup. All watch lines «Portuguese» have one thing in common: they are accurate navigational tools for everyday use in the modern world.