IWC Review: 5007-01 7-Day Power Reserve

[PlanetZoom 1]

Executive Summary (aka: the most important information in this review): 

 

This is a great watch.  NWBIG IMO.  Enjoy the photos.

 

First off, what’s up with the name of this watch?

 

This watch is often called the Seven Day Power Reserve.  This is because… wait for it….it has a seven day power reserve.  Makes sense?  So far, so good.

 

But that’s not the real name of the watch.  The official name is the Portuguese Automatic.  Or the Portugieser Automatic.  I always get these two names confused (the Portuguese part, not the Automatic part).  So I use them interchangeably.  More on that later.

 

Some History

 

The first IWC watch with a seven day power reserve was the “Portugieser Automatic 2000.” The Automatic 2000 was produced from 2000 to 2002 and was known as the Ref 5000.  Why Ref 5000 for the 2000?  Probably because it was powered by a Caliber 5000.

 

Here’s a pic of the Ref 5000:

 

 

In 2004, the “Automatic 2000” was replaced by the “Automatic.”  And the Ref 5000 was replaced with the Ref 5001. The 5001 was a bit bigger, featured a new movement, and added a date feature.

 

So how do we get to the 5007-01?

 

The Ref 5001-01 featured a rose gold case and a silver dial.  It was produced from 2004 to 2010. 

 

In 2010, the 5001-01 was replaced by the Ref 5001-13.  The -13 had a red gold case instead of a rose gold case.  It was produced from 2010 to 2015.

 

In 2015, the Ref 5001-13 was replaced by the Ref 5007-01. 

 

Also in 2015, in an effort to confuse people, IWC changed the Portuguese name to Portugieser.  In fairness, IWC has not yet officially confirmed that the purpose of the name change was to cause widespread confusion.

 

Visually, the 5001 and 5007 are very similar.  There are some minor differences.  Some people may think they are major.  They aren’t.

 

 

Inside, the new movement of the 5007 has two winding barrels instead of one. It also features ceramic parts for the automatic winding mechanism.  All well and good, but not applicable to the rep.  So let’s move on.

 

Here are some stats on the 5001 and 5007:

 

5001:

42.3 mm x 13.9 mm

Caliber 51010

44 jewels

21600 bph

 

5007:

42.3 mm x 14.5 mm

Caliber 52010

31 jewels

28800 bph

Fewer jewels, more beats….talk about efficiency!f

 

Here’s a gen 5007-01:

 

 

The Rep: Stats                    

 

This rep is the ZF v4. 

 

Here are the stats from a dealer website:

 

Size: 42mm x 14mm

 

Movement: Base Movement: Asian 23J automatic movement;

 

Decoration:  Platinum plated movement plate and rotor which are made according to the genuine movement, the best looking IWC 52010 Movement Clone at the moment.

 

Functions:   Hours, minutes, sub-seconds, power reserve and date display

 

Case:  Rose Gold Plated Solid 316L stainless steel case

 

Crystal: Scratch-proof sapphire crystal with AR coating

 

Dial: White dial

 

Bezel: Stainless steel bezel

 

Strap: Brown leather strap

 

Clasp: Deployant buckle

 

Don’t believe everything you read

 

The dimensions listed on the dealer site are incorrect.  According to my trusty calipers, the watch is 42.5 mm x 14.2 mm.  That’s a bit bigger than the 42 x 14 shown on the dealer site.  And it’s closer to the official stats for the gen of 42.3 x 14.5. 

 

This is a great rep

 

The ZF v4 is the closest to gen version of this watch. 

 

According to the dealer website, it has been replicated from a genuine sample.

 

Here are some comparison photos:

 

 

 

 

The Strap

 

Reps straps are typically bad.  One of the biggest not-so-secret secrets to dramatically improving a rep is to replace the rep strap.  This one has a Camille Fournet strap on it.  CF straps are expensive but well worth the investment. 

 

Check out this incredible watch/strap combo:  

 

 

 

 

It looks delicious.  If it were edible…

 

 

Deployant Buckle

 

It took me a little while to get used to deployant buckles.  Now I really dig them.  They’re a lot easier than messing with a tang buckle.

                                             

 

 

The Dial

 

This dial is clean and crisp.  Very pleasing to the eyes.

 

 

 

                          

Let’s get in closer

 

Seconds sub-dial

 

Seven day reserve sub-dial

 

In case you are wondering, the reserve on the rep is not 7 days.

 

 

 

This shot reminds me of the beginning of Star Wars Episode IV, where the screen fills in from above with an Imperial Star Destroyer.  I saw that in the theater when it first came out.  It was awesome. 

 

 

 

 

Movement

 

I’ve read that the movements can be a bit noisy on these watches.  This one is super quiet.  I bought it m2m.  Maybe the seller had silenced it.

 

 

Now let’s flip the rotor over

 

Different lighting

 

 

On the Wrist

 

So what does it look like on the wrist?

 

 

 

 

 

Are there any downsides?

 

There are two downsides to the watch. 

 

One is the plating.  That’s a pro and a con.  It’s a pro because it looks good.  It’s a con because plating on reps tends not to last.  I don’t wear the watch very often and I try to be careful when I wear it.  So far, the plating has held up nicely. 

 

The other downside is that the watch is so beautiful, it can be distracting.  Sometimes I find myself staring at it instead of doing something productive.

 

Overall Impression

 

Two thumbs up.

Edited May 28, 2018 by PlanetZoom

[Glaude 1,617]

That's a very nice review ! Congrats !

And a very nice watch, on my wish list for quite some time now  

[Luxuracer 14]

Wonderful review of a beautiful watch.

I wanted a IW5007-04 but end up ordered the IW5463-07 ... because I want to add a tourbillon for my collection.

 

[PlanetZoom 1]

56 minutes ago, Glaude said:

That's a very nice review ! Congrats !

And a very nice watch, on my wish list for quite some time now  

 

8 minutes ago, Luxuracer said:

Wonderful review of a beautiful watch.

I wanted a IW5007-04 but end up ordered the IW5463-07 ... because I want to add a tourbillon for my collection.

 

I figured I'd take a short break from post whoring.

That tourby is nice!  At some point, I'll want to add a tourbillon to the collection.  I'll be taking a close look at the IWC options. 

[Joyjoyk 0]

Great review with great pics of my favorite watch! wear in good health

[Chixisigma 461]

Fantastic review pal! Really enjoyed that. Great watch too

Chi

[John45 0]

How big is your wrist, if I may ask?

[FunnyStarSystem 7,540]

I've owned virtually every version and color combination of the 5000, then 5007 coming out of Guangzhou, and boy have there been a lot. They just kept getting better so I had difficulty keeping up - but I'm finally down to one, which I'm happy with - and a custom strap from Italy to go with it. Now I plan to buy the gen, but having to choose the color combination has so far saved me thousands.

Nice review Zoom of LMC (which incidentally is a galaxy).

[PlanetZoom 1]

28 minutes ago, John45 said:

How big is your wrist, if I may ask?

 

6.7"

[VMSG 2]

Great review man!

The watch looks amazing!

[pjustinv 0]

Great review! I'm planning to buy the same watch but with blue markers. Where did you buy the strap, what size, and how did you apply the Deployant Buckle?

[TxWatchGuy 0]

Curious, the reserve is obviously not 7 days, but how long would you say it is?

 

Great review by the way, did you end up using the deployment clasp that came with the rep, with your fancy band?

[repIWCone 0]

On 18/10/2018 at 23:14, TxWatchGuy said:

Curious, the reserve is obviously not 7 days, but how long would you say it is?

 

Great review by the way, did you end up using the deployment clasp that came with the rep, with your fancy band?

Mine is a little over three days, close to 80 hours. Not bad, in my opinion.

[VMSG 2]

Mine is a little over three days, close to 80 hours. Not bad, in my opinion.

Not bad at all!

[samurai dave 7]

Fantastic review. Wear it in good health. Now where is my credit card? 

[shyreplover 95]

Wow, nice watch and informative review.
I haven't paid much on this particular model due to the fact that the power reserve needle was fixed on the earlier release. But with the power reserve sorted out, this is a very nice rep to have.

[horologer 0]

How would the power reserve behave if its only 3 days against 7 days sub dial?

[Alan32 1,080]

25 minutes ago, horologer said:

How would the power reserve behave if its only 3 days against 7 days sub dial?

If I understand the question, the needle on the power reserve moves twice as quickly as it should, but as it takes three days to go from "Full" to "empty" and the rotor will top it up as you wear it, I don't think anyone will notice,( unless you leave it on your desk for three days and someone sits and stares at it)

[JL91 0]

I had a ZF version of this watch and it ended up dying a half death. It still winds manually but not automatically, and the power reserve is now dead and will only last a day or so. Something is detached inside, can hear it clinking around, but don't dare to open it up haha.

[GenTLe 1,523]

9 minutes ago, JL91 said:

I had a ZF version of this watch and it ended up dying a half death. It still winds manually but not automatically, and the power reserve is now dead and will only last a day or so. Something is detached inside, can hear it clinking around, but don't dare to open it up haha.

Just service it. The autowind isn't badly made in these.

I had it not autowind too and it was only a matter of a sticky reversing gear (one working one not), 30 min work to fix it by washing the 2 reversing and lubing it correctly.

[JL91 0]

On 12/06/2019 at 19:08, GenTLe said:

Just service it. The autowind isn't badly made in these.

I had it not autowind too and it was only a matter of a sticky reversing gear (one working one not), 30 min work to fix it by washing the 2 reversing and lubing it correctly.

Interesting! Maybe I will then :)

[blueoysterboy 17]

Very nice review, love the history lesson

[Nstirton 0]

Wow great review! Very comprehensive and pics are great. Clearly I need to put more work I to my reviews 

[tribefan 6,770]

Awesome review, love this watch!

 

[alilondon 345]

Lovely!