Review: IWC Portugieser Automatic Ref 500712 released in 2018
IWC Portugieser Automatic was the first luxury watch I purchased for myself that led me down the watch collecting rabbit hole. Prior to this, I had the Omega Seamaster given to me as a gift by my parents (having a solid caseback). Prior to that, I had worn various watches from Casio, Seiko, Citizen, Swatch, Delma (gift), longines (gift) and Avi-8 and they were just tools for telling time to me.
I knew the technical difference between a mechanic watch and a quartz watch early on. However, the difference didn’t seem that big to me as a consumer then, as both showed time and came with solid casebacks. The perception changed when one day I saw a mechanical watch with a transparent caseback! That was the first time I saw a “beating heart” and other moving parts in a mechanical watch and started reading all about the mechanical watches. I told myself to get a watch with an exhibition caseback next.
After doing research and visiting a few boutiques, I decided to go with the IWC Automatic in silver dial with reference number 500712. In addition to a beautiful see-through sapphire back with a skeletonized rotor, there were a few other reasons for choosing this watch. First, as an engineer by training, I paid close attention to the technical specifications and was very impressed by the 168 hours (7 days) power reserve and the efficient winding mechanism. I liked the elegant and classic design with perfect symmetry. Last not not least, I was attracted to the fact that IWC was founded by an American in 1868 and the beautiful story of the origin of the Portugieser collection.
The IWC Portugieser Automatic Reference number 500712 is indeed a high performance timepiece. The timing accuracy was +0.2 seconds per day measured over 24 days in normal use by me, which was really exceptional. The winding mechanism is very efficient as it keeps adding extra energy when it is worn (the indicator keeps going up). The power reserve indicator is really useful, especially when I’m switching among watches. The super-long 7 day power reserve ensured that this watch got a lot of wrist time, as it is always ticking and ready to be worn, during watch rotation.
The watch is quite comfortable to wear for me with a case size of 42mm and I exchanged to a brown strap (22mm) to look more casual. If you prefer a smaller case size, then you are in luck, as IWC has released a 40mm automatic model to the Portugieser collection in 2020. IWC is offering the industry leading 8-year warranty, which shows the confidence in the quality and craftsmanship. It is a perfect daily use watch good for both office and casual weekends and it makes for a very nice gift as well.
Additional information and reviews:
The official product page
The WatchBase product page
Review by Hodinkee