Yes, it's been a while, and to this end I decided to spend some quality time with a couple of boutique-only LEs that should get any Portuguese fan's heart racing...
First up is the 2012 Limited Edition Portuguese Automatic in rose gold (MSRP: $25.9K). Honestly, I'm at a loss as to what to write here, other than, well... just look at it, will you! It's freakin' gorgeous! We all know the dimensions and what's under the hood, so really, what else is there to say? Am I right?
Howzabout we just let the pics do the talking, hmmmm?
Like all Portuguese Automatics, this isn't a shrinking violet, and oddly, the gold case seems to amplify the size somewhat. Even so, it wears spectacularly on my just-over-7" wrist; substantial, yet not overpowering. It possesses the reassuring heft endemic to this noble metal, and the finely grained bronze/gold dial is a perfect complement to both the case and the black subdials.
Now I know that I said I wasn't going to harp on the movement, but since we're here, I might as well acknowledge that it's the 7-day automatic that we've all come to know and love (the c. 51011 to be exact). One of the things that I love about the Portuguese Auto is how the movement completely fills the case -- no spacers here folks, just a large, honest and nigh unto indefatigable engine.
As you can see, this piece was manufactured in a series of 500, which means that there are going to be 500 exceedingly happy individuals out there by the time this series is sold out.
Of course, if you happen to miss out on this one, you might still get lucky with this one:
;-)
Here we have the Year of the Dragon LE from 2011, which was produced in a "lucky" series of 888 watches (MSRP: $25.9K). It's a dead-ringer for the 2012 LE, save for the ardoise dial, which I feel works just as well in conjunction with the gold case as the bronze/gold dial does on the 2012.
Naturally, it sports the same movement as the 2012 LE, however this time the rotor is personalized for the occasion:
(love, love, love that medallion!)
These are still floating around out there, so if you were born in the year of the dragon, or just happen to have a thing for ardoise dials and gold cases, lady luck may smile on you long enough to put this beauty on your wrist.
First off, I have to thank Badr at the Flagship boutique for taking the time to bring the Year of the Dragon out of the safe for me to fondle and photograph. It wasn't on my radar, but let me tell you, it sure is now (moot point, however, given my current finances). And of course, the usual litany of superlatives need to be heaped upon Liana, Patrick, Andre, Robert and Nigel (the latter of whom continues to prevent me from leaving with more watches than I arrived with). I don't currently own a Portuguese, but if I had my druthers -- and an accommodating missus -- I think it's fair to say that the Year of the Dragon would be spending its days bringing its peculiar brand of luck to my wrist.
To sleep, perchance to dream... Sigh.
Regards,
Adam
PS - In the interests of being complete, I spent time with this particular beauty at a GTG earlier in the week:
(yup, that's the 2011 LE Portuguese Automatic)
It may be the year of the Ingenieur, but for me it's definitely been the Week of the Portuguese.
- craniotes