IWC Portuguese Thesis

The Thesis is the original Portuguese watch from IWC. This watch evolved in the late 1930s when two Portuguese businessmen ordered from IWC in Schaffhausen a wristwatch using a pocket watch movement. Pocket watches always were the classic watch and IWC was noted for its fine pocket watch movements. By producing in limited quantities an oversized wristwatch, hiding within its case a pocket watch movement, IWC had inadvertently created a unique symbol of classic horology.

While few true Portuguese wristwatches were made by IWC –a total of only 669 were produced from 1939 to 1981-- the original Portugieser said everything that needed to be said about a “regular” watch. There were no adornments to the watch and no complications to its movement. Instead, it was a simple watch that just told time. Hours, minutes and seconds. Its case was straightforward, its dials --and there were many styles-- were classic in the pocket watch tradition, and its movement was superb. What was remarkable about the Portugieser was its large size, plus its pocket watch movement. The watch was beautifully designed and executed, yet entirely functional. A complete classic.

In 1993, to celebrate its 125th anniversary, IWC reintroduced the Portugieser with its Jubilee model. An oversized wristwatch using a thin pocket watch movement, the limited edition of 2,000 was an instant success. The Jubilee Portugieser was both classic and boldly new –especially given that its large size was virtually unique when it was introduced in the early 1990s.

The Jubilee model, in turn, spawned many new models for IWC. These included at first a manual wind rattrapante chronograph, an automatic chronograph, and a small Portuguese with an automatic movement. The epitome of the Portuguese line, at least until now, was the introduction in 2000 of the Portuguese 2000 –the first watch with IWC’s very special in-house movement, the Calibre 5000. This movement involved a play on tradition vis-à-vis innovation. It incorporated design elements from IWC’s past, including the Pellaton winding system and the Cal. 89 escapement, in something totally new.