IWC celebrated Revolution’s 10th Anniversary with a 10 piece special edition of their Portugieser late last year. We covered the special edition here. In that article, we alluded that a unique piece will be offered for auction to benefit a charity. That piece was recently unveiled: the IWC Portugieser Unique Piece for Revolution – a special version of the hand-wound eight days edition 75th Anniversary, ref. IW510208.
The special feature which makes the watch unique is the black dial with ecru Super-Luminova accented dial.
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The Watch: IWC Portugieser Hand-wound Eight Days Edition 75th Anniversary Unique Piece for Revolution
The IWC logo is in the traditional script so beloved by collectors. This is also the style used in the regular 75th Anniversary pieces in place of the modern nomenclature of a capitalized “IWC”.
Unique watches from IWC are extremely rare. The Schaffhausen based manufacture is a commercial powerhouse, and tend to take a more industrial approach to its watches than an atelier styled one. Limited Editions are rare. And Unique Editions are extremely rare.
This Unique Edition is based on IWC’s acclaimed Portugieser Hand-wound Eight Days Edition 75th Anniversary, a watch to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the IWC Portugieser watch family. We covered the standard watch in a full review here.
The black dial combined with the ecru accents and the beautifully warm red gold case makes for a handsome watch.
The Unique Edition is cased in a red gold case, with a black dial with ecru Super-Luminova accents. The combination of case material and dial variant makes the piece unique. The movement is the manual winding IWC manufactured 59215 caliber, and engraved with the words “10th Anniversary Revolution” above the barrel.
The proportions of the Portugieser family are almost perfect. Good sense of balance with a aesthetically pleasing case design where the bezel is made very small, and a large sapphire glass crystal with an arched edge. From the case back, the purpose developed movement stretches across the entire expanse of the case back, leaving only a tiny rear bezel. We think this to be very beautiful aesthetically, but also philosophically as this is only possible for a movement which is purpose developed for the case, requiring no movement ring.
The movement is the IWC manufactured caliber 59215, manual winding, 28,800 bph, 30 jewels and with an eight day (192hour) power reserve. The power reserve indicator is placed on the movement side and can only be viewed from the case back.
The movement is finished to traditional specification, but as we noted in our review of the regular IWC Portugieser 75th Anniversary, the final execution is not as fine as the finishing found in IWC’s earlier issue of the IWC Portugieser Jubilee, some 25 years prior, but still bears homage to the DNA of the Portugieser family.
The Revolution Star, and the engravings “10th Anniversary Revolution” on the plate above the mainspring barrel.
The plates are ruled with fausses côtes and anglage is applied to the plate edges. A Glucydur beryllium with an alloy indexless balance with high precision adjustment via inertia screws on the balance arm is installed with Breguet overcoil hairspring.
IWC Probus Scafusia logo prominently engraved on the plate.
The Charity: Smile Asia
The charity has also been named, and this beneficiary is Smile Asia, an international alliance of charities that provide free surgeries to children with facial deformities. In the last 25 years, with the help of dedicated medical volunteers, members of Smile Asia alliance have contributed to over 50,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other deformities.
IWC Portugieser Hand-wound Eight Days Edition 75th Anniversary unique piece for Revolution Ref IW510208.
The auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong 6 October 2015
Measuring 43mm in diameter, the IWC Portugieser Hand-wound Eight Days Edition 75th Anniversary is rather comfortable.
The watch will be offered for sale in the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Important Watches Auction on 6th October 2015 as Lot 2292. All proceeds from the sale will go towards Smile Asia.
The public can review the timepiece at Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from Friday 2nd Oct to Monday 5th Oct. The auction opens in the morning on Tuesday 6th October, and bidding for Lot 2292 os expected to begin at approximately 1630 local time.
Stunning good looks and a simple, classical dial make the IWC a precious object of rare beauty.
