Brand
IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Chronograph Automatic Ref. IW3714-4
The IWC Portuguese traces its roots to 1939 when two watch dealers from Lisbon, Portugal, requested the Swiss brand create a wristwatch accurate to marine chronometer specifications in a larger, oversized 40mm case. As a result, the original ref. 325 IWC Portuguese was born. That is the Portuguese, this is the Portugieser. The automatic chronograph Portugieser hails from the late 1990s, an entirely different era in IWC's history.
Introduced to the catalog in 1998, the IWC Portugieser Chronograph ref. 3714 features a 41mm case, a leather strap, and a slim, almost non-existent bezel design necessitating a strikingly large dial. Famously unchanged in the two-plus decades since the Portugieser Chronograph debuted, it has remained consistent with its original and iconic design. The only notable departure from the 1998 original is the movement.
The brand's reputation for utilizing and modifying ébauche movements speaks for itself; look no further than Richard Habring's work on the Doppelchrono. For the first 21 years, IWC went with its bread and butter, a heavily modified Valjoux/ETA 7750, for the Portugieser. In 2020, IWC upgraded the automatic chronograph inside to the brand's new in-house caliber 69355 and switched from a stainless-steel to exhibition sapphire caseback to show it off a bit. Today's example features ETA's tried-and-true workhorse.
This particular ref. IW3714-45 is in overall clean and excellent pre-owned condition. The case has been professionally refinished. The caseback is marked simply with "INTERNATIONAL WATCH CO.," and the case serial number "6056XXX." There is light scratching to the stainless steel caseback as well as the rear of the lugs. The inside caseback is marked with case and reference numbers. The movement inside is an IWC caliber 79350, a heavily modified Valjoux 7750. An IWC brown alligator strap and stainless steel deployant clasp are currently fitted to the watch. During our quality control check, any necessary adjustments are made to ensure the watch is functioning as intended.
The dial, case, crown, movement, strap, and buckle are all signed by IWC. In addition, this watch comes with the original IWC box, papers dated April 1, 2017, and manuals.
*NOTE: Please be aware that this watch comes with an alligator leather strap as an accessory. If the watch is shipped to the state of California or any international destination, we will not be able to include the alligator strap due to laws regarding the sale and shipment of exotic leather goods. In this case we will include a fashiontourbillon.com strap.
Florentine Ariosto Jones founded International Watch Company in 1868. Prior to IWC, Jones was a director at E. Howard & Co. in Boston, MA. IWC was founded with the idea of combining American engineering capabilities with Swiss craftsmanship. IWC is the sole watch brand in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
