IWC Portuguese Regulateur

Maritime Explorers. In the 1930's, two Portuguese businessmen requested IWC to construct a wristwatch with a large dial to make it easier to read. Well that is the frequently told story at least. At that time mens watches were smaller than they are today, with typical case diameter being around 31mm's. IWC started producing these oversized watches during the 1940's, but the Portuguese line was not too popular, and eventually disappeared from the IWC line-up.

In 1993 the Portuguese was relaunched, this time, the line taking its inspiration from maritime navigation. From Bartholomue Dias who was the first European to sail around the Western tip of Africa to Ferdinand Magellan who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the globe (though Magellan himself did not complete the trip), Portugal has had a long line of maritime explorers and was heavily engaged in maritime trade.


IWC Portugeuse Regulateur. One of the watches in IWC's Portuguese line, is the Portuguese Regulateur. The regulator watch design was inspired by early marine chronometers. This design features separate axes for the hour, minute and seconds hands. Separate axes were used to reduce the amount of mechanical energy required to drive the gears and friction, in an effort at improving a movement's precision. Like the Tourbillon, it turned out to unnecessary complication, and did not replace the conventional watch design.

The IWC Portuguese Regulateur is powered by the IWC Caliber 98245 movement. The Caliber 98245 is a manual wound movement which produces 18,000 vibrations per hour and has a 46 hour power reserve. The movement is visible through a sapphire crystal caseback.

The watch has a 43mm diameter case which is water resistant to 30 meters. The watch is available in platinum, white gold, rose gold and stainless steel, with complementing leather straps.

About IWC. IWC or the the "International Watch Co. Schaffhausen" was founded by an American engineer from Boston, Florentine Ariosto Jones, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in the year 1868. IWC Schaffhausen is notable for being the only major Swiss watch factory located in eastern Switzerland, as the majority of the well-known Swiss watch manufacturers are located in western Switzerland.