The Complete History of the IWC Portugieser Chronograph (1996-2021)

This is purely my personal opinion, but I love IWC's Portugieser watches. This model is elegant, easy to read, and robust, making it a masterpiece that fully meets the requirements of a high-quality practical watch. Each model has something to say, but surprisingly, there is no comprehensive information available on the smash hit "Portugieser Chronograph (formerly Portugieser Chrono Automatic)." Perhaps this is because it is so standard.

　However, this long-selling watch, which has been produced for over a quarter of a century, is actually (or at least, if you put in a lot of effort) full of attractions that are comparable to other Portugiesers. This article is written by a "Portugieser fanatic" for "Portugieser fanatics," and provides a comprehensive overview of the history and great points of the Portugieser Chronograph.

The origins of the Portuguese and Chrono

　Official records state that the Portuguese "Portugieser" was born in 1939 at the request of two Portuguese men. Their original request was to "make a nautical watch suitable for captains." In response to their request, IWC deliberately used a large pocket watch movement to achieve high accuracy and added the largest possible dial.

　It was clever of IWC not to make this into a military watch. Even among sailors, captains are considered distinguished figures. IWC likely had this in mind when giving this large, high-precision watch an uncharacteristically refined exterior. It may be only natural that the first Portugieser, whose components except for the case were all repurposed from existing pocket watches, had such an elegant design.

　The Portugieser is now a symbol of IWC, but it remained a niche model favored only by a select few collectors. Its 42mm diameter was unthinkable, even though it wasn't a military watch. IWC re-produced the Portugieser in the 1980s, but it was reportedly a limited edition for the German market, where people were not averse to the larger size.

　A turning point came in 1993. To celebrate its 125th anniversary, IWC released a reissue of the Portugieser Jubilee, featuring a pocket watch movement. Encouraged by its smash hit, IWC considered making the Portugieser a regular model. However, at the time, the only automatic movement that could be fitted to the large Portugieser case was ETA's automatic chronograph movement, the 7750. It was only natural that IWC would first equip a mass-produced Portugieser with the 7750. In 96, IWC first released a manual-winding version of the 7750, the Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante (Ref. 3712), which removed the automatic movement. In 98, they announced the automatic Portugieser Chronograph (Ref. 3714).

　The reason this model was such a big hit was that, despite being a chronograph, it retained the original design entirely. The design was overseen by watch historian Reinhard Meis and IWC CEO Günter Blümlein.

　While maintaining the characteristics of a large dial and simple design, they added further sophistication. The 12-hour counter characteristic of the ETA7750 was abolished and replaced with a simple two-horizontal layout. The bezel was also made as thin as possible, with a seconds display engraved on the bezel. To emphasize the slimness, all the hands were made thinner, and the chronograph hand in particular was made thinner and longer than is possible with current models.

　IWC's skill can also be seen in the case design. The ETA7750 used in this watch is 7.95mm thick. If it were placed in a normal position, the case would be cylindrical. In response, IWC shaped the back cover into a bowl shape, thereby narrowing the middle case. This design makes a thick watch appear less thick. This technique would later be applied to the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph, which Meis and Blümlein were involved in.

The heart of the Portuguese Chronograph: the ETA7750 "modified"

　IWC stopped producing their own movements in the 1970s and has primarily used ébauches from Jaeger-LeCoultre and ETA, as well as Marvin, Valjoux, and Frederic Piguet, but these are few and far between.

　The main models were the Jaeger-LeCoultre 889 (900) three-hand automatic and the 631 mechanical quartz chronograph. From the 1980s onwards, the ETA 2892A2 and 7750 were also used, but the basic models were limited to Porsche Design, and only highly modified versions were used for IWC. Perhaps IWC was reluctant to use a generic ETA.

　However, in the early 1990s, in order to expand its collection, IWC decided to fully adopt ETA ébauches. There are various theories as to why IWC switched from Jaeger-LeCoultre to ETA. While Günter Blümlein welcomed ETA's affordable ébauches (it's said that his public remarks to an Austrian journalist led to the so-called ETA 2010 problem), Kurt Klaus, the technical director, disliked the Jaeger-LeCoultre 889's delicacy, finicky hand-setting, and low winding efficiency. In fact, upon seeing an Ingenieur equipped with a Jaeger-LeCoultre 889, Kurt Klaus once asked me, "Is it winding OK?" It's also said that Blümlein, wanting Jaeger-LeCoultre to move away from its reputation as an "ébauche manufacturer," no longer preferred to use ETA ébauches, even within the group. Since then, IWC has released a series of new collections equipped with ETA movements. The main models are as follows:

1994: Mechanical Flieger Chronograph Reference 3705 (based on the ETA 7750)
1996: Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante Reference 3712 (based on the ETA 7750)
1998: GST Chrono Automatic Ref. 3707 (based on the ETA 7750)
1998: Portugieser Chronograph Reference 3714 (based on the ETA 7750)
1999: Mark XV Ref. 3253 (based on the ETA 2892A2)

　A major turning point came in 1998. IWC, which had been reluctant to adopt ETA, decided to adopt the ETA 7750 and 2892A2 from that year. The first watches introduced were the GST Chrono Automatic and the Portugieser Chronograph. However, it was typical of IWC that they did not use an ébauche. The ETA 7750 and the "modified" 2892A2, which were equipped with ETA movements, brought IWC great fame and the know-how to manufacture in-house movements.

A Geek-worthy History of IWC's ETA Modifications

　As mentioned above, IWC was already using ETA ébauches in various Porsche Design models. The automatic chronograph 7750 was the most commonly used. Released in 1973, the 7750 was characterized by its low cost, high accuracy, and robustness, but production was discontinued in 75. ETA resumed production in 83. However, IWC had previously adopted the C.790, which was based on the 7750, in 80 or 81.

　The first model chosen to feature the 7750 was the Titanium Chrono (Ref. 3700), a collaboration between IWC and Porsche Design. According to IWC documents, it first appeared in 1980. However, considering that it is not listed in the 1982 catalog, it is likely that it was actually sold after that. Comments from those involved vary on when IWC adopted the 7750, so the exact year cannot be determined. Regardless, IWC subsequently made improvements to the ETA 7750, developing it into a first-class movement. Below is its lineage.

C.790: First generation. 1980 or 81-88. Nickel-plated finish. Valjoux regulator.

C.7901: Second generation. 1991-93. Gold-plated finish. Valjoux regulator.

C.7902: Third generation. 1988-94. Successor to the C.790. Gold-plated finish. Valjoux regulator.

C.7912: Fourth generation. 1995-97. Successor to the Ca. 7902. Gold-plated finish. Etachron regulator. Based on the C.76240 movement used in the 96 Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante.

C.7922: Fifth generation. 1998–2004. Successor to the C.7912, this movement features a gold-plated finish and a Triovis regulator. It was based on the C.79240 movement used in the original Portugieser Chronograph.

C.79320: Sixth generation. 2005-20. Successor to the C.7922. Rhodium-plated finish. Equipped with a Triovis regulator. Based on the C.79350 movement used in the second-generation Portugieser Chronograph.

　Regarding the C.790, which first appeared in 1980 or 81, Kurt Klaus said, "At the time, IWC did not have the know-how to assemble mechanical chronographs. Therefore, we outsourced the assembly of the ETA 7750 to Kellec (formerly Breitling Chronometry)." When ETA discontinued production of the 7750 in 1975, it discarded all of its parts. However, given that IWC released the C.790 in 80 or 81, it's highly likely that the parts remained. This is purely speculation, but IWC may have assembled the C.790 using parts from the 83s that Kellec had left over until ETA began reproducing the 7750 in 70.

　The ETA7750, which IWC adopted in 81 and became widely used from the mid-90s onwards, was characterized by its low cost, high accuracy (high vibration and a large moment of inertia in the balance wheel), and robustness.However, it had weaknesses in that the swing angle of the balance wheel dropped significantly when the chronograph was operated, and the positional error was excessive.

　The reason IWC didn't address this issue in the '80s was probably because they outsourced the assembly of the ETA 7750 to Kellec. And because it was primarily used by Porsche Design, IWC could afford not to worry about accuracy (with the exception of the modified 7750 for the Da Vinci released in 1985). In fact, as of 1988, only 13 of the 55 models still used ETA ébauches, and the only one with the 7750 was the Da Vinci reference 3750.

　However, starting with the C.7901 in 1991, IWC began assembling the ETA 7750 in-house and performing special tuning on it. Stefan Ihnen, head of R&D, says, "It wasn't until the four-digit movements that IWC began assembling in-house that we started modifying ETAs."

　In addition, since 1995, IWC's maintenance department has been keeping thorough statistics and conducting detailed surveys to identify the causes of breakdowns. The results are fed back to the design department, and later, maintenance staff began to be involved in IWC design. These efforts have also greatly improved the reliability of IWC watches.

The improvements IWC made to the ETA7750 (from C.7901 onwards) are as follows:

- 100% inspection of barrel torque
- Barrel polishing on the main gear train
- Precise adjustment of the gear train
- Stricter accuracy adjustment
- Triovis regulator needle for precise fine adjustment (C.7922 and later)

　These improvements, with the exception of the Triovis regulator, are also the same as those of the C.3752 (now the 37000 series), which is based on the ETA2892A2. The SW500-based movement, which is roughly the basis of the ETA7750 that IWC later adopted, also underwent improvements similar to those of the ETA7750, with the exception of the Triovis. However, all of the movements used in the Portugieser Chronograph are based on the ETA7750, not the SW500.

　IWC's "modified" ETA7750 was a movement that maximized the original's original characteristics. In addition to the improvements mentioned above, the amplitude was improved compared to the standard ETA7750 by adjusting the pallet stones on the pallet fork. As a result, IWC's modified ETA7750 not only had accuracy that surpassed that of a chronometer, but also had less impact on accuracy even when the amplitude was reduced by adding a complicated mechanism. However, due to issues with the balance wheel swinging, IWC later began to slightly reduce the amplitude of the modified ETA7750. This type of tuning technique was later adopted by Breitling as well.

　The finely adjustable TrioVis regulator (or more accurately, the finely adjustable regulator) is another major feature of IWC's modified ETA7750. As far as I know, the only other manufacturers that use TrioVis in their ETA7750s are IWC, Tudor, and Wempe. While the component is expensive, the finely adjustable TrioVis regulator is a key feature that many IWC associates acknowledge as bringing superior accuracy to IWC's modified ETA7750. Rene Schwarz, who was responsible for maintenance at the time of the C.7922, described the movement as follows: "There's nothing to complain about with the 7922."

　The C.79240 for the Portugieser Chronograph is an improved version of the C.7922. It was produced from 1998 to 2004. The date display was removed and replaced with two vertical displays, and the rotor, 30-minute counter wheel, and chronograph wheel were also changed. The number of jewels has increased by six compared to the C.7922 due to the addition of a module on the dial side to change the position of the small seconds. The original C.79240 movement was gold-plated, but its successor, the C.79350, was changed to the standard rhodium plating.

　The ETA7750 has what's known as a tri-compax layout with three vertical counters. The 30-minute counter is at 12 o'clock, the seconds hand is at 9 o'clock, and the 12-hour counter is at 6 o'clock. However, IWC's engineers created a layout with two vertical counters by removing the 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock and relocating the seconds hand from 9 o'clock to 6 o'clock. This is an extremely unique approach. They removed the entire calendar mechanism from the dial side of the ETA7750, created a new bridge, installed an additional gear train, and moved the seconds hand to 6 o'clock. It could be said that the Portugieser Chronograph movement makes the most of the benefits of in-house assembly.

The successor to the C.79350 is a purely in-house movement

　In 2019, IWC released a limited edition model to commemorate its 150th anniversary. One that caught the eye was the "new" Portugieser Chronograph, which featured an in-house movement. The movement was the C.69355. While one might think it was based on the ETA7750, this movement was actually a new generation automatic chronograph designed from scratch.

As already written in the Japanese version of Chronos, the main features are as follows:

- The chronograph switch has been changed from a cam type to a column wheel type.
- The automatic winding has been changed from a one-way winding to a ratchet-type bidirectional automatic winding (Magic Click).
The 12-hour counter was moved from the movement side to the dial side, but was omitted in the second C.69355.
- The layout of the gear train has been significantly changed, with the position of the second hand (fourth wheel) moving from 9 o'clock to 6 o'clock.
The clutch is a horizontal swing pinion, just like the ETA 7750, but it now allows for fine adjustment of the engagement.
- The regulator has been changed from a Triovis to an Etachron type.

　This movement was an automatic chronograph movement that borrowed some components from the 89000 series that IWC had already released. However, unlike the high-end 89000, it was designed solely as a replacement for the ET7750. As such, it did not feature the swing pinion mechanism that prevents the hands from jumping, nor the free-sprung mechanism without a regulator, which are features of the 89000 series. The regulator itself also "degenerated" from the previous Triovis to an Etachron-like design.

　However, this movement largely eliminated the ETA7750's weaknesses, making it more than a replacement for the ETA7750. It eliminated the excessive shock inherent in unidirectional winding, reduced positional error, and reduced swing-out when the chronograph was activated. The soft feel of the pushers (especially the reset button) was also something the ETA7750-based movement lacked. Even the chronograph reset was performed by a cam, and the tactile feel of the ETA7750 was anything but. The new C.69000 series was also used in the 2020 production Portugieser Chronograph, and the ETA7750-based C.79320 was discontinued. The new Portugieser Chronograph with the C.69355 looks almost identical to its predecessor. However, by placing the fourth wheel at 6 o'clock, the need for a module to relocate the small seconds hand was eliminated.

Subtle (too subtle) exterior modifications

　Aside from a few variants, there are essentially only three variations of the Portugieser Chronograph.

・Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante Ref. 3712 Manufactured from 1995 to 2002. Equipped with C.7624 (0).
・Portugieser Chronograph Ref. 3714 Produced from 1998 to 2019. Equipped with C.79240 (1998 to 2004), C.79350 (2005 to 2019).
・Portugieser Chronograph Ref. 3716 (IW3716) 2019 onwards. Equipped with C.69355.

　While the design remains largely the same, three major changes have been made. The first was in 2001, when the embossed indices were replaced with applied indices, allowing the Portugieser Chronograph to be offered with a variety of dial colors. It wasn't until the Ref. 5001 in 2007 that the dial of the Portugieser Automatic, equipped with an in-house automatic movement, was changed from embossed to applied.

　The second improvement came in 2012. IWC, which had been working to produce cases in-house, adopted an in-house case for the Portugieser Automatic (Ref. 5001) in 2005. In 2012, the Portugieser Chronograph (Ref. 3714) was also given an in-house case. Accordingly, the engraving on the case back was changed. The Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph (Ref. 3940) is machined as before, while the Portugieser Chronograph (Ref. 3716) is laser-etched.

　The third change was the addition of the C.69355. The case diameter was 40.9mm, the same as the existing Ref. 3714. However, with the addition of a see-through case back, the case thickness increased to 13.1mm. The extra thickness was placed on the case back, so the appearance from the side is almost identical to the Ref. 3714.

Summary

　The Portugieser Chronograph, with its elegant exterior and highly accurate movement, is one of the most desirable chronographs currently in production. The C.79240 and C.79350, which are modifications of the ETA7750, are movements that could be considered the perfection of the ETA7750, except for the excessive rotor shock and stiff push-button feel. Its successor, the C.69355, also has a slightly shorter power reserve, but is very well-balanced as a basic automatic chronograph. Its winding efficiency is high, and its accuracy, as always with IWC, is excellent.

　Honestly, you can't go wrong with the Portugieser Chronograph, whether it's a new or old model. However, if I had to choose, movement enthusiasts would go for the former, while those seeking the ruggedness and practicality that is characteristic of IWC would go for the latter. As an IWC enthusiast and a Portugieser fanatic, I'd say, "Just buy a Portugieser Chrono." It's a truly wonderful watch.