Born from a desire to wear chino shorts, boat shoes, and a Hawaiian shirt, IWC is bringing forth a new summer timepiece known as the IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph “Summer Edition” watch. The Portugieser line has been a mainstay for IWC for many years now and is often the line that the Schaffhausen manufacturer exercises their implementations of complicated movements with. The watch is designed with a deliberate nod to the casual. As I alluded to earlier it would be at home on a leisure yacht or a classy Caribbean resort. It has a blue panda dial, with the minute and hour counter for the chronograph sitting at noon and the ticking seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. There are also red accents running up the middle of the top half of the dial to compliment the seconds hand.
The watch is sized well at 43.5mm wide and 14.2mm thick. IWC made use of their manufacture caliber 89361 that includes the double register at noon, flyback chronograph function, and a 68-hour power reserve. Flipping the watch over you’re treated to a display back that shows off the movement. IWC, as you’d expect, did a great job decorating the movement including a signed rotor. In addition to this watch, IWC has announced a limited collection of fabric straps to accompany their Summer Edition releases.
Nearly three years ago my wife and parents kidnapped me for my birthday and took me to Bequia. The trip was full of hot climate, rum drinks, and even a sailboat trip to the Tobago Cays; this is where I see this watch fitting in with the exception of one characteristic, the depth rating. I love the aesthetic, and I think that IWC accurately captured the spirit of warm weather and summer vacation, but with a depth rating of 60m, I am dubious of what would happen should you fall overboard. I suppose technically 60m should be fine for swimming. However, I’m not sure how many folks would risk it with a watch at this price. Depth rating aside, this is a handsome watch with a nicely polished case and an attractive blue sunburst dial. The display back on the watch adds a great element of intricacy to the piece allowing you to see the in-house chronograph working away – that’s always a great added benefit.
The IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph “Summer Edition” is in my opinion, a great addition to what is an otherwise very dressy line from IWC. I question their choice on a depth rating for this watch, and they’ve even gone so far as to put the watch on a rubber strap (from what I can tell) when you purchase it. Apart from that, I believe this would be a fine addition to someone’s summer excursion kit. The Summer Edition IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph’s release date will be announced shortly and the watch will be available for $12,100. iwc.com
