Portugieser Minute Repeater Yellow Gold

In Context

At 42 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. At 12.3 mm it is a tall case, and it will catch on a cuff. The case back is open, so the movement is visible without taking the watch apart, and the plexiglass crystal scratches easily but polishes back out at home, which sapphire does not.

The movement is hand-wound, so winding it becomes part of the day rather than something the watch does for you. 43 hours of reserve carries it overnight, but not through a weekend in a drawer. At 18,000 vph the seconds hand advances 5 times a second, the slower and more audible rate of an older design.

IW5240-01 is one of 3 executions of the IW5240 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a silver dial and a yellow gold case. It was a limited edition. Introduced in 1995. Beyond the time it carries a minute repeater.

A hand-wound minute repeater descended from IWC's calibre 95 pocket-watch movement, introduced in 1995 for the Portugieser Minute Repeater. The finger-shaped bridges are a pocket-watch inheritance, and they leave the going train visible from the crown wheel through to the escape wheel. A large screw balance and Breguet overcoil regulate it, and the repeater strikes hours, quarters and minutes.

5 other watches in the library run the IWC 95290.

IWC

Portugieser Minute Repeater White Gold

IW5240-07 · 42 mm

IWC

Portuguese Minute Repeater Red Gold

IW5242-03 · 43 mm

IWC

Portuguese Minute Repeater White Gold

IW5242-05 · 43 mm

IWC

Portuguese Minute Repeater Platinum

IW5242-04 · 43 mm