IWC Portugieser Replica Vintage Eye for the Modern Guy

Last week we covered the Rolex Day-Date; this week we come to a watch my grandfather owns, a piece he wears intermittently between his favorite orange Toy Watch and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.I am talking, of course, about the iconic IWC Portugieser Replica Watches, or as the English-speaking world is used to calling it, the Portuguese. It boasts a design that was ahead of its time upon its launch in 1939, and is without a doubt the most successful series IWC has yet produced. Originally created upon request for two Portuguese businessmen, the IWC Portugieser has solidified itself within the horological community, and continues to grow its image among newcomers and admirers alike.

For the 75th anniversary of this watch, IWC Replica Watches released the Portugieser Ref. 5102, a hand-wound piece that after a full wind can keep ticking for up to 192 hours. Available in either stainless steel or 18k rose gold — at $11,400 and $21,200 respectively — this watch, according to IWC, strives to “lean heavily on the purist design code of the original Portugieser of the 1930s,” and from what I can tell it is a job well done. From the 43-mm case to the vintage, corporate IWC Replica Watches, from the feuille hour and minute hands to a seconds subdial, this watch takes many direct inspirations to help recreate the early Portugieser Ref. 325. Some of the more modern, and noticeable, features of the piece are the clear caseback, a 6 o’clock date display, and the eight-day-power-reserve IWC Caliber 59215.

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However popular the IWC Fake Watches is today, it is worth noting that between 1939 and 1981 only about 700 of the Ref. 325 models were actually manufactured. Due to this, this style of watch has the opportunity to become much more “its own” piece than if it were to have had a long initial following; regardless, IWC still chose to honor these earlier models in the Portugieser line. The piece, compared to the Ref. 325, is a very similar watch. In 1939, a 43-mm watch case was an anomaly, but today is in line with modern tastes, and the vintage-inspired, retro Arabic numerals, logo, and hands help it stand out as both tasteful and unique.The next watch we’ll look at this week is the Portugieser Chronograph Ref. 3714, possibly Cheap IWC Replica most popular watch. This watch uses an automatic IWC Caliber 79350 with a 44-hour power reserve, is also housed in either an 18k rose-gold or stainless steel case, and is just under 41 mm in diameter. The dial is available in either black, silver-plated white, or a sun-burst black known as ardoise, and most of the variations include nautical blue accents on either the hands or Arabic hour markers. With two vertical chronograph subdials and handsomely simple pushers, this model starts around $7,900 for the steel version, and $17,500 for the rose gold.

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The modern IWC Portugieser has been able to solidify itself as one of the more iconic watches available. While there are many other vintage recreations and modern models that I would pursue before an IWC Fake Watches, I do understand why so many people both appreciate the brand and its watches. The Portugieser Ref. 5102 is a nice watch in its own right, and one that I do not think IWC will have any problems selling. Meanwhile, the Ref. 3714 is a modern watch that has become one of the brand’s more recognizable pieces today. As a modern-day watch brand with both a vintage story and contemporary success, the world of horology is always looking to see where the brand will go next.

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Vintage Eye for the Modern Guy: IWC Mark XVII Replica

In this week’s edition, we come to another important series from IWC: the Pilot’s watch and, by extension, the Mark series. The modern day Pilot’s series traces its origins to the 1930s and ’40s as part of the B-Uhr watches developed for German pilots in the years surrounding World War II. While Replica Watches is sometimes credited with developing the first watch in this style — specifically the B-Uhr-style triangle with two dots at the 12 o’clock mark — it was in collaboration with a number of other German and Swiss watch manufacturers that the style came about. Within the complete modern series of the IWC Pilot’s Watch there exists a multitude of variations, from chronographs to GMTs to perpetual calendars, but the most historically relevant of them all still exist today: the Mark XVII and the Big Pilot.

This week we will be covering the first of these two: the IWC Mark XVII Pilot’s Watch — the most recent descendant to the historic 1940s Mark IX. This watch features a 41-mm, stainless steel case, a black dial with white accents, and classic pilots’-watch sword-shaped hour and minute hands. The watch has the iconic triangle with two dots at the 12 o’clock mark, tick marks at the other quarter hours, and Arabic numerals for the remaining hours. At the 3 o’clock mark also resides an altimeter-inspired, curved date display.If you’re curious, a “central hacking seconds” function, sometimes also known as hack or stop seconds, is a mechanism common in aviation-oriented IWC Replica Watches in which the seconds hand stops if the crown is pulled out. This is rather helpful for pilots, because it allows them to accurately adjust their watches to the second before taking off.

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The IWC Mark XVII is a very different IWC Fake Watches than the Mark 11, and in the 67 years since this collection’s release — and subsequent re-release in 1994 as the Mark XII — much has changed. As an evolution of the Mark 11, the Mark XVII is barely recognizable; the 11 was developed as a reliable, utilitarian military watch that could be mass produced and that catered specifically to the specifications of the British Royal Air Force. However, when the XVII is compared to the more recent Mark XII, and to later iterations including the Mark XV and XVI, the style of the contemporary Cheap IWC Replica is more in line with its predecessors.The few similarities to the Mark 11 lie in the bold quarter hours, triangle mark at 12 o’clock, similar font for the hour numerals, and a clear lean toward readability with the black and white-accented dial. However, when the XVII is compared to the XII, the focus on the luxury aspect of the watch becomes more apparent — the Fake Watches improved quality of the finishing, the date wheel at 3 o’clock, and the continued focus on readability remains.

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In case you can’t tell, I like the modern Replica Watches Mark series; more specifically, I like the Mark XVII. It pays respect to the history of the series, with subtle nods to both the ’40s and the early ’90s, in ruggedness, functionality, and readability, but also is very much its own watch, bringing a variety of modern touches together. The IWC Mark XVII happens to be one of the smaller watches within the complete Pilot’s Watch series, and it has some of the broadest overall appeal of all of the brand’s watches. IWC Replica Watches has done its job well; now we only need wait for the release of the Mark XVIII.

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The New and Vintage Omega Speedmaster Mark II Replica

After the Omega Speedmaster Professional won the race to the Moon in 1969, Omega thought it was time to come up with a watch that was perhaps a bit more up-to-date and ready for the 1970s — design-wise, that is, as the watch would still need to handle the same abuse as the Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” could. Sometime in 1969, Cheap Omega Replica introduced the first Speedmaster Mark II, which was actually a Speedmaster Professional Mark II.The Speedmaster Mark II came with the same Lemania-based movement as the Moonwatch. This movement is Omega’s Caliber 861 and was in production from 1968 through about 1996, when it was succeeded by the Caliber 1861 movement. The Speedmaster Mark II had a barrel-shaped case that looked totally different from the asymmetrical Speedmaster Professional case. The regular Speedmaster, which was issued to NASA astronauts, was still in production, however. Throughout all the Replica Omega Seamaster series, the regular Speedmaster Pro remained available.

When Omega ceased production of the Speedmaster Mark II in 1972, the Mark III already had been introduced. The Speedmaster Mark III was succeeded by the Mark IV in 1973. Then there is the Mark 4.5, which came on the market in 1974. The last one of the Replica Omega Speedmaster series is the Mark V, introduced around 1984. Confusing, right? There are even more models in between and some slight variations on the above. In any case, Omega decided to do a Speedmaster Mark II reissue in 2014, and we noticed that the watches were already in the Omega boutiques before their official introduction at Baselworld 2014. Just like the original Speedmaster Mark II watches, there are a few variations available of the Replica Omega Seamaster planet ocean 2014 models. There is a black-dial version and a racing-dial version as well as a Speedmaster Mark II “Rio 2016” Olympic Games edition that we saw during our appointment with Omega.

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As you can see on the photo of the Speedmaster Mark II Racing, the barrel-shaped case and bracelet are very similar to those on the original version. We will come to that comparison later on. If you take a closer look, you will notice that the dial is somewhat different from the original. The racing track is a bit different from the original, which had a red outer track and an orange Omega logo at 12 o’clock. However, the biggest differences are perhaps in the text on the dial and the fact that the new Omega Replica Watches Speedmaster Mark II 2014 model has a date aperture. Instead of a no-date, hand-wound chronograph movement – like the one that is still being used in the Speedmaster Professional 357x.xx series – Omega decided to use its Caliber 3330 movement. This movement has a column-wheel mechanism, a co-axial escapement, an Si14 silicon balance spring and a power reserve of 52 hours. It has little similarity with the original movement, except for the tri-compax layout of the dial, of course.

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The official presentation on this replica omega Speedmaster Mark II watch can be found on the Omega website, where you can switch off the light to see the illumination of the dial and where you can resize the bracelet. What model do you prefer? The vintage Mark II or the new model? Let us know by leaving a comment below; we are curious to know.