IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar 5021-19 Luxury Watch Review

http://www.thewatchbox.com/watches/iwc IWC's Portuguese is a mainstay of the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker's catalog. Conceived in 1939, the design has withstood the trials of time and come into its own with the modern embrace of large watches. This 44mm rose gold IWC Portuguese Perpetual takes every essential element of the classic Portuguese and adds a litany of IWC watchmaking innovations. From its (IWC master watchmaker Albert) Pellaton winding system, whose rotor winds in both directions via pawls to the 51612 in-house movement to the (fellow IWC master watchmaker Kurt) Klaus perpetual calendar mechanism, this Portuguese reads like an anthology of IWC's greatest hits. The Pellaton winder has been copied relentlessly by Swiss rivals, but IWC sports the only original. Its fascinating use of pawls, jeweled rollers, and a bomb-proof shock protected winding rotor makes it the rare winding system that provides an element of theater and suffices as a conversation-starter. The IWC in-house 51612 movement fills the entire display caseback. In contrast to many rivals, which continue to pack dated mini-movements into macro-sized modern cases, IWC designed the 5000 series specifically to fit modern watches and modern tastes. This masterpiece is braced against shock, temperature, and positional accuracy errors; a Breguet overcoil hairspring, screwed balance, and micro-adjusters see to that. A superb 7-day power reserve keeps the IWC's 51613's rugged heart beating while the co