Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide (Live Pics & Pricing)
A complication perfectly suited for the Portugieser collection...
The IWC Portugieser was born in 1939 following a request from two Portuguese navigators and businessmen – Rodrigues and Teixeira – who wanted the precision of a marine chronometer in a wristwatch format. No need to say that this iconic IWC collection has strong ties to the nautical world. And to celebrate these roots, IWC is unveiling a new model today with an unprecedented complication that couldn’t be more appropriate: a tide indication. Encased in a sporty and large case, meet the new IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide.
Introduced in 2010, the IWC Portugieser Yacht Club is a sports model in this rather elegant collection, with its nautical, yachting, regatta-ready note. More robust, larger, a bit more rugged and bulky, it has mostly favoured one complication until now, the chronograph – a world timer has also been available in the past. A versatile watch, capable of timing a sailing race but also at ease with a drink at the marina. In addition to the revamped chronograph collection, also introduced as part of the 2020 line-up, the Schaffhausen-based brand is also unveiling a brand new complication, with deep nautical roots: the new Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide.
Visually, there’s not much that changes compared to the rest of the Yacht Club collection. We find the same 44.6mm case, here crafted in 18k rose gold (the only version available for the moment), with crown guards, robust lugs and a thin polished bezel opening on a large dial. In the same vein, the dial retains the classic leaf-shaped Portugieser hands, yet bolder and with lume, the railroad minute track with applied lume plots and signature Arabic numerals. Complementing the nautical look, this IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide is worn on a water-ready blue rubber strap with a sailcloth-like textile insert (note: the photographed watch here is a prototype and the strap will be slightly different, with an integrated shape between the lugs).
What changes, however, is the display. Instead of the chronograph, there is now a novel indication, based on two sub-counters, linked to moon phases and tide calculations. A sub-dial at 6 o’clock indicates the expected times for the next high and low tide. The double moon phase display at 12 o’clock (with both hemispheres indicated) has been enhanced to show spring and neap tides and thus provides information about the strength of the current tides. Spring tides, which bring particularly high water, occur at full moon and new moon. Considering the vocation of the IWC Portugieser Yacht Club, it feels like a very appropriate complication!
The dial of this new watch has a blue sunray-brushed base with rose gold contrasting elements for the hands, the indexes and the secondary indications – a classic combination for IWC. Not to obscure the lower sub-dial, the date is positioned at 3 o’clock.
To power this new watch, IWC relies on its 82000-series base movement. The tidal display module is integrated into the novel calibre 82835 and contains just 49 individual parts. The base movement is familiar and boasts 60h of power reserve, features the Pellaton winding system and beats at 4Hz. It is visible through a sapphire display caseback and is finished in a pleasant way, with opened bridges that reveal most of the parts – including the ceramic, wear-free wheels.
The IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide (ref. IW344001) will be priced at CHF 35,000 or EUR 34,900. More details at iwc.com.
