Phantomtech 4 Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) Hi all! So I just received the latest released watches from the ZF factory, the stunning IWC 5454. I know this will not be the most popular model on here but for me it was a no brainer and here's why. I have been searching for the perfect dress watch for a long time, the problem I have is that my wrist is around 7.75" and all the dress watches I try on look pretty small and dainty on me. When I try to wear bigger dressier watches then the problem is that the watch sits too tall on the wrist and does not fit under any of my shirt cuffs! So the IW5454 watch is the perfect fit for someone like me. It is 44mm and the height is only 10mm. My wrist is large but very flat and this watch is perfect for this shape. So anyone with a large wrist take notes! I still think it will look good on average wrists as well. I am fairly new to the IWC world and I only jumped on board when I saw that ZF released an awesome 5001. That would have been the perfect dress watch if it wouldn't have been so tall! But it was love at first sight and I started looking into and following the IWC brand with vigorous enthusiasm. When I saw ZF was releasing the 5454 I pre-ordered these two watches the day they released it, and in my opinion the ZF hit another home run with this! The first thing I noticed about these watches is the way the dials really adapt to the surrounding colors. The black dial can go from a rich deep black to a stunning grey or light charcoal. The white dial will go from a cool white to a rich silver and even a tan shade at times. It is hard to capture it in live pics but I tried my best to show off the different lighting. The AR on these crystals are very good, the black dial shows off a hint of blue like the gen. I might still send it to Steve to get that colorless AR I love on black dials. Time will tell. I wasted no time and purchased a OEM IWC Santoni strap for the white dial and a Jacob strap for the black dial. These Santoni straps are worth every penny to me, I have never seen such a gorgeous brown shade on a strap. It complements the white dial with gold markers perfectly, it even brings out the tan shade in the dial as well. Jacob straps need no introduction on this board, everyone knows how awesome they are and they are pretty on par with the gen! I had him custom make it with curved ends but with thicker leather near the case to minimize the strap gap and he did a fantastic job with it! I am also glad that these watches come on tang buckles like the gen, they are super comfortable on my wrists, much more than any of my deployant clasps! The manual wound movement is an awesome reliable movement (so I hear) and it winds very smoothly. I do have a question though if anyone can enlighten me. One of my movements is pointing to slow and one of them is pointing to fast (see photos), what does this mean? Do I have to correct it and if yes then how? Enough talk, on to the pics! First - check out how ZF factory ships their watches with their tags, nice touch lol: Here is the IW545407 with black dial and silver hands and markers: Here is the IW545408 with white dial and gold hands and markers: Here is both together with the straps in more detail: So there it is, hope you guys enjoyed the photos. I think this will stay in my collection for a long time! Until next time, Phantomtech Edited February 2, 2016 by Phantomtech Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watchi 0 Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) powerfully written and nice pics too. btw. the slow fast arrow is for tuning the balance's oscillating frequency to regulate the watch. it's not working as slow fast indicator of the mov't https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_wheel Edited February 2, 2016 by watchi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruski91 1 Posted February 2, 2016 Looking great! That santoni strap alone is a killer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tichymeloun 0 Posted February 2, 2016 You did really well! The white dial one is on my list. It is a finaly well repped, thin IWC. I got two 5001s and as you just said, they are too thick:-( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simms 1 Posted February 2, 2016 Thanks for the great write up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peteya 0 Posted February 5, 2016 Awesome review, thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moondustesp 136 Posted February 5, 2016 They are stunning. Straps looks good aswell enjoy them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simonbolivar 1 Posted February 5, 2016 Nice pics... The white is stunning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robeng 0 Posted February 5, 2016 Great review..love the white one with that strap! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the_frenchman 31 Posted February 5, 2016 Thanks for the review , you just made me add this beauty to my wish list!! Very nice fine pickup Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex87 0 Posted February 23, 2016 Wow, stunning watch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stuvetjee 17 Posted February 23, 2016 Nice review thanks for that! Too bad 44mm looks huge on my wrist when it comes to classy IWC watches. :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
henrychinaski 2 Posted February 29, 2016 These are awesome. I have a 5001/04 also and love it but I might have to add one of these to the collection also! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pob 73 Posted February 29, 2016 Nice review and watches! Need to get one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MeaCulpa4 0 Posted February 29, 2016 Beautiful. I will have to get me one of those! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anpanman 0 Posted March 7, 2019 @PhantomtechThank you for the review! Like you, I also stumbled upon this watch as my ideal dress watch (simple dial, and thin). I also have have a similar 7.25” (~18cm) wrist and I thought the larger case diameter of 44mm will fit me nicely. Unfortunately, I stumbled upon this too late and the Gen has already stopped production. ZF doesn’t seem to produce this rep anymore. I was asking my regular TD Fat Panda, and he said he could obtain this rep by KS factory. It has been 3 full years since your acquisition. How are these watches holding up? Could you share any updates? To other members, does anyone know anything about KS factory and their Rep quality? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
