While the Big Pilot Ali LE may have won by TKO last week, its challenger still managed to put up one heckuva fight. With so many of you voting for me to profile the vanquished piece, it was a forgone conclusion that this particular boutique visit would highlight the ref. 5449.
And so, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the Portuguese Minute Repeater ref. 5449-07 in 18K red gold (MSRP: $93.2K):
Frankly, there's not much to say here other than, "wow". While I know that many of you pine for the old IWC Schaffhausen script, to my eyes, this dial is nothing short of perfect; the proportions, the hue, the applied arabics... All just perfect. And then there's the solid 18K red gold case, which blends into the domed sapphire crystal in such a natural, organic fashion that one could almost believe that the watch was willed into existence through sheer force of mind.
In a word, it's gorgeous:
As you can see, it's a relatively tall piece at 14mm, but this is to be expected owing to the minute repeater mechanism, which is built on an cal.98290 base:
And what of the movement? Well, it's a doozy, alright. As I mentioned above, the cal. 98950 movement is highly evocative of the FA Jones handwound movement, what with its extended index and mainplate design, but if you dig a bit deeper, the true claim to fame is laid bare in the form of a highly complex and sonorous repeater mechanism that took over 50,000hrs to develop.
The repeater is comprised of over 200 parts, with each gong made entirely by hand and individually tuned to ensure that the sound is just right.
Now, about that sound...
Again, just perfect.
The Portuguese Minute Repeater ref. 5449 is a limited edition of 500pcs in 18K red gold or platinum and is available through the boutique or an authorized dealer. True, they're not exactly giving them away, but IMO they represent an amazing value for a complication of this caliber from a manufacture of this stature. If you don't believe me, then get thee to the boutique to see for yourself. In fact, that's just what one of our members did (though truth be told, I doubt he harbored any doubts about the ref. 5449).
This week I was joined by our very own Greg Goode, who was kind enough to bring his Portuguese Hand-Wound ref. 5454-08, which can be seen below with my Top Gun Perpetual:
It is a truly delightful piece, and seeing Greg light up as he talks about it makes it abundantly clear that it has found a terrific home on his wrist. In fact, he loves this watch so much that he wound up purchasing a gorgeous dark brown Santoni alligator strap for it. Hopefully he'll post some pics of it mounted up soon.
And of course, what visit would be complete without an espresso to see me safely back to the office?
(Noreen brought it up this time, so Patrick didn't have the opportunity to steal my chocolate)
Yes, it was another fantastic visit, and I have nothing but superlatives to heap on Patrick and Noreen for once again graciously enduring my interference in the well-oiled machine that is the IWC Flagship boutique. Another shout out goes to Robert, who took over for Noreen, when pressing business called her downstairs. Thank you so much, all of you!
Regards,
Adam
PS - Next time I'm going to focus my annoying attentions on Liana and Andre; you guys got off easy this week. ;-)
- craniotes