IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days 5101-06 Luxury Watch Review

http://www.thewatchbox.com/watches/iwc The IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days 5101-06 is a love letter to the Schaffhausen watchmaker's hardcore fans. Released in 2011 as an homage to the epic 1981-1997 Portofino 5251 (the immortal "Fried Egg"), the Portofino Hand-Wound is a stunning rebuttal to those who insist IWC has not mastered dress watches. At 45mm in polished stainless steel, the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days absolutely jumps from the wrist when viewed in direct light. The combination of a gleaming blue dial with a brilliant polished case is only the Portofino's initial hook; outstanding proportions complete the arresting effect. Consider the ratio of dial to bezel; the vast blue disc appears to be ringed by a delicate halo of gleaming silver. Not only does this set the IWC Portofino apart from its (smaller) IWC Portuguese stablemates, but the judicious division of bezel and dial creates the impression that the Portofino is *FAR* larger than its substantial 45mm diameter. When watch writers wax about "wrist presence," they may as well retire the expression in favor of a new superlative: "IWC Portofino." Seriously, this watch has STANCE. With spare lugs that melt away into the flow of the Santoni alligator leather strap, the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days reads as a bold-faced medallion for the wrist. Within the gloss blue dial, IWC maintains the decorum and Teutonic restraint for which the great Portofino 5251 became renowned among collectors. Appli