A DIAL DESIGNED FOR THE REGION

Dial language shapes how a watch is read at a glance, and for IWC Schaffhausen it is rarely a superficial choice. Rendering the Portugieser Chronograph’s dial and totalisers entirely in Arabic numerals ties the design directly to the market it is being introduced in, offering collectors across the UAE and the wider region a version of the chronograph that speaks their own numerical language. Its unveiling in Abu Dhabi places the watch in front of the audience it was designed for.

The chronograph joined the Portugieser family in 1995 with the Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante, and the complication has carried a note of sporty elegance through the collection ever since. The inner flange, printed for high-precision stop-time readings, rounds out the layout. For this new edition, IWC Schaffhausen reworks the dial entirely in Arabic numerals, carried through to the chronograph’s totalisers, designed with watch collectors across the UAE and the wider region in mind.

The Portugieser Chronograph with Arabic dial (Ref. IW3716) can be customised with ten vivid dial colours – slate, olive, sage, purple, aubergine, mauve, pink, sunburst, ginger and ice – each paired with a polished and brushed stainless steel case. Across every colourway, the Arabic numerals are applied in a luminescent finish, ensuring clear legibility against the dial, and are echoed on the two chronograph totalisers as well as the date display. The watch is fitted with a coordinating strap in alligator leather or rubber, depending on the dial colour.

ROBUST AND RELIABLE CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT

The Portugieser Chronograph is powered by the IWC- manufactured 69355 calibre, a mechanical chronograph movement engineered with a focus on robustness, reliability, and longevity. The column-wheel control of the chronograph function ensures that individual phases in the switching sequence are clearly defined, with a distinct tactile resistance when the buttons are pushed. Seamless integration with the basic movement and careful coordination of all components helps to ensure that the correct rates are maintained even when the chronograph is subject to intense use. Typically for IWC, the vertical arrangement of the subdials displays the stopped minutes directly at the 12 o’clock position and places the small seconds at 6 o’clock, a layout that enhances readability and has become a distinguishing design feature of the Portugieser Chronograph.

A WATCHMAKING WORKSHOP AT THE CONGRESS ACI

Alongside the unveiling, IWC Schaffhausen lead 4 practical watchmaking workshops as part of the Congress ACI’s Professional Capacity Building Programme. During the session, participants had the opportunity to carefully disassemble and reassemble a mechanical watch movement, discovering the intricate mechanisms that power a timepiece and the precision, craftsmanship and expertise required to bring it to life.