Beautifully combining classic design with mechanical complexity, the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar screams excellence from every angle. It occupies a place of pride not just in the maison's repertoire but in the pantheon of complicated watches as well. Housing an in-house perpetual calendar calibre that shows a double moon phase display, this IWC is a grail watch through and through.
Thanks to the plethora of information, the dial is innately complicated in nature. Yet, it retains a fair amount of legibility, thanks to the watch's substantial size, 44mm in diameter, which facilitates the clean positioning of functions on the dial. In addition, there's plenty of artistic aesthetics too. The moon phase sub-dial at 12 looks delightful, with gold-hued stars set against a dark background mimicking the night sky. The sub-dial carries two moon phase displays to mark the moon's position in both the northern and southern hemispheres. IWC promises an accuracy of one-day divergence in 577.5 years, an unparalleled feat! After the moon phase, the other fascinating element is the year indication squeezed between seven and eight markers depicted in four digits to ease readability. The sub-dials at three and nine feature seven-day power reserve, date, day, and running seconds. The applied Arabic numeral markers, sunburst pattern, and signature rail track chapter ring demonstrate IWC's attention to detail.