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Glaude

ZF IWC Portugieser Chronograph 3714-46

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GingerApple

Why on earth did I sell you that watch! It looks amazing!!!!! Bastard French tea leaf.

Photos are excellent as always, but the photos are not high Res when you click on them - at least not on my iPad; PC might be different I guess.

Love it big man!

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Glaude
3 minutes ago, GingerBlubba said:

Why on earth did I sell you that watch! It looks amazing!!!!! Bastard French tea leaf.

Photos are excellent as always, but the photos are not high Res when you click on them - at least not on my iPad; PC might be different I guess.

Love it big man!

Thank you very much for that watch and for your comment my friend ! I wouldn't have it yet and perhaps would have pulled the trigger too late to get one if it wasn't for your excellent M2M deal ! (Where's the Hulk by the way ?)

It's strange, you don't get redirect to imgur if you click on a picture ? If you hold your ginger fat finger on the picture, you may have a drop-down menu offering you to open the link, try that and report back !

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GingerApple
6 minutes ago, Glaude said:

Thank you very much for that watch and for your comment my friend ! I wouldn't have it yet and perhaps would have pulled the trigger too late to get one if it wasn't for your excellent M2M deal ! (Where's the Hulk by the way ?)

It's strange, you don't get redirect to imgur if you click on a picture ? If you hold your ginger fat finger on the picture, you may have a drop-down menu offering you to open the link, try that and report back !

I do get redirected to Imgur, but it's the same low Res picture. And I do not have fat fingers.

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Glaude
12 minutes ago, GingerBlubba said:

I do get redirected to Imgur, but it's the same low Res picture. And I do not have fat fingers.

You have fat finger, you have to click again on the picture on imgur, then you'll have it in full res, fat ginger I mean fingers

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GingerApple
12 minutes ago, Glaude said:

You have fat finger, you have to click again on the picture on imgur, then you'll have it in full res, fat ginger I mean fingers

Nope, nothing.

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Tits McGee
12 minutes ago, Glaude said:

You have fat finger, you have to click again on the picture on imgur, then you'll have it in full res, fat ginger I mean fingers

Wrong. He has a fat head.

If even I can see them then Tomato Head should be able to! :lol:

 

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GingerApple

It must be the iPad thing innit. Are you on PC Tits?

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Tits McGee
1 minute ago, GingerBlubba said:

It must be the iPad thing innit. Are you on PC Tits?

Yes. Me and your girl are Skyping right now!

SiL6PMp.gif

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Glaude
13 minutes ago, Tits McGee said:

Wrong. He has a fat head.

If even I can see them then Tomato Head should be able to! :lol:

 

He also has a fat ass ! But that's less relevant to the problem... or is it ?

9 minutes ago, Tits McGee said:

Yes. Me and your girl are Skyping right now!

SiL6PMp.gif

:lmao: 

Nice new profile pic for GB by the way

12 minutes ago, GingerBlubba said:

It must be the iPad thing innit. Are you on PC Tits?

Indeed Imgur is weird on iPad I've just tested it, try to ask for the regular version of imgur in the browser options

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GingerApple
4 minutes ago, Glaude said:

Indeed Imgur is weird on iPad I've just tested it, try to ask for the regular version of imgur in the browser options

Yep, that's sorted it. Not that I want to look at your shitty pictures anyway.

5 minutes ago, Glaude said:

Nice new profile pic for GB by the way

Motherf...........!!!!!!

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Glaude
8 minutes ago, GingerBlubba said:

Yep, that's sorted it. Not that I want to look at your shitty pictures anyway.

Want to be happy ? There was indeed some missing pic link of some picture at the beginning of the review, it's now fixed !

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Thommo82

Watch cabinet completed ETA is 16 months away.....

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Junior88
2 hours ago, Glaude said:

If you have to get one, get a dark dial, that's what suits you best IMO :) 

Thank you for your comment my friend ;) 

You're probably right. Most of my watches have dark dials. 

That said, the dark dial version doesn't speak to me like the blue hands on white. Every time I see this one, I want one more. 

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Glaude
11 minutes ago, Junior88 said:

You're probably right. Most of my watches have dark dials. 

That said, the dark dial version doesn't speak to me like the blue hands on white. Every time I see this one, I want one more. 

Then pick it up ! ;) 

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McGilli
3 hours ago, Glaude said:

There's a link for each and every one of my reviews, including the list of the upcoming ones !

I'd never seen that before.... Looks good. And yes, much neater but.... Still, special people (like me) would never know to look there. I don't think? Maybe? Meh.

What I like is that you are going to be reviewing a watch I've already reviewed.... Can't wait! Something like that - is bound to be a once in a lifetime thing going by our watch tastes :)

 

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Junior88
46 minutes ago, Glaude said:

Then pick it up ! ;) 

I was looking on the 'Gate (quick look) and haven't seen one yet. I've been kind of stupid busy between work, the father in law, and I've been working on these model kits too. 

I WILL pick one up, however. 

 

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Foxindebox

Fantastic review mate :thumbsup2:

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GC

Stellar review of a spectacular timepiece... bravo @Glaude 

i might just have to try the gen on to see 

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DavidPS1
17 hours ago, Glaude said:

https://i.imgur.com/DryQgPV.png

New section inspired by @semperfi55 reviews, a short introduction and sum up of the brand, the basic knowledge to have as a watch enthusiast about a particular brand without diving into deeper and obscure stories if there's no need for it.

IWC for International Watch Company is the creation of an American citizen, Engineer & Watchmaker named Florentine Ariosto Jones. At the time, in 1868, the European continent wasn't really thought after for investing and prospering, but this 27 old man figured that Switzerland had things to offer.
Back in this period Swiss was nothing like today : qualified craftsmanship but low salary and more importantly at the top of big changes in the country in regards to all aspects of the society, turning toward manufacturing and economy and away from war & religion.
With that in mind the founder thought that there was room for combining the skills of the Swiss workers with the power & efficiency of the growing American industry and machines. Schaffhausen was chosen as the HQ of IWC and had ta face the opposition of traditional watchmaking & work schedule with modern industrial technique & employment practice.
Today IWC is still considered as a quality yet industrialised watchmaker and this is the review of the :
 

ZF IWC Portugieser Chronograph 3714-46

3QB0Ih7l.jpg

 As usual, the pictures are reduced & cropped to fit the template of the review, I strongly encourage you to click on them to enjoy the full resolution & details.

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngTechnical datasheet from the TD & truth about each one :
If no observation in bold then the information from the seller is either true or unverifiable. Italic bold texts are added informations about the rep.

Case: Stainless Steel 316L
Band: Blue leather
Movement: Asian Valjoux 7750 New slim and 29j version
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds (@6 subdial), Chrono second (Big second hand), 30min counter (@12)
Case width: 40mm | 40.6mm
Overall thickness : 12.5mm | 12.6mm
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal | Checked with diamond tester = positive Sapphire crystal
Strap size : 20mm (lug to lug) | 54mm-132mm (short & long side)
Weight : 63.5gr (case) | 86gr (case + strap & clasp)

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngAbout the watch :

https://i.imgur.com/JOVwM5Vb.jpg

The rep

https://i.imgur.com/reMzGCIb.jpg

The gen


A well-known and well thought-after model from IWC, dare to say, iconic ? I dare !
This reference n°3714-46 (The first number is the series, no meaning there, the second one is for the colour/material variation).
The first reference is the 3714-01 in Stainless Steel gold numerals, gold hands, blue 30 min counter hand and I won't detail all the variation of this reference 3714 because there is ... 38 of them (including the special editions).
The 01 is considered to be the most wanted version.
To simplify this review, I'll occasionally refer to this watch as the IWC Portugieser Chrono.

Why Portugieser ? For a simple and pretty boring reason : This was a special request from two Portuguese businessmen looking for a precision marine chronometer in a wristwatch format rather than in a pocket watch format, more common at the time (1939).
The good time of special requests to watch manufacturer, imagine our buddy @McGilli walking into IWC HQ and asking for a bespoke watch, would love to see that making it into mass production and the history of the brand !

This reference number is just one of the many models of the Portugieser series, the previously mentioned bespoke marine chronometer watch was the reference n°325 a simple three hander with second @6 in a gigantic (for the time) 43 mm case.

The IWC Portugieser Chrono made its debut in 1998, the reason of this massive success is simple : it's the only watch from the IWC catalogue that haven't changed beside the material/colour, everything stayed the same, if that's not the reason of its success it's part of it, being already at the perfect 41 mm spot, it fits every wrist and at the entry level of the Portugieser series, it's available to anyone that can save a bit at the end of the months for one year... or two (7600 € - $7300 - £6550 and not you can't change the currencies symbols).

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngThe case :

https://i.imgur.com/fho8mnGb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k10GzD9b.jpg


Since my previous review I've ordered an optical spectrometer from @Thommo82, he assured me he could deliver it just after he's finished with his watch cabinet project... should be in any time now.
Until then I'll have to rely on a simple visual analysis and believe the claim from the TD that got the info from the cousin of the daughter of the guy that made the case in the back alley of the ZF factory (I know that F is for factory, I like redundancy, to my wife pleasure).
It's 316L Stainless Steel.

The gen case is 40.9mm wide (excluding the crown) and 12.6mm thick, the rep case is 40.6mm wide and 12.6mm thick. The thickness was measured with a micrometer, so there's no doubt about it, the case diameter was measured using a cheap digital caliper, within the margin of error of such a crude instrument, we could say that this is a 1:1 case replication as advertised by the factory.
You can now walk into your AD with your empty case and ask for a replacement... (don't do it, dufus)

The pan shape of the case isn't what you'll notice at first glance, you'll have to raise your arm at eye level to enjoy the beautiful inverted cone that makes this bezel emerge from the case like a lighthouse in the mist or like an alligator from the water if you want to stay manly in your description.

https://i.imgur.com/7YJgBmTb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NdJwqmdb.jpg


What you'll immediately notice upon wearing it, is how thin the watch is despite being over the 12 mm mark. The shape of the lugs and the low profile of the back case make this watch hug your wrist. The strap being entirely free from any "end link" insert (in contrary to say, the Cartier Santos) allow any shape and size of the wrist to sit flat on the forearm without any discomfort or weird angle.

You will find two different finishes on the case, one of them being the almost black polish finish of the bezel, top-bottom of the lugs and side of the back case (black polishing is a technique that consists of polishing the metal until there's only either a white reflection or a black reflection but no intermediate, it requires the finest particle in the polishing compound, like Diamantine)
The second finish is the brushed side of the case, the side of the lugs, the inside of the lugs and case, lastly, the flat part of the back case.

The back case, secured by four flat-head screws, is engraved with the International Watch Co. text, a serial number and two small dots, everything as per gen.

The crown is nurled and engraved with the IWC Probus Scafusia logo, two mushroom shaped pushers at 2 and 4 complete the case without sacrificing its elegance.
Wait a minute, what is this Probus scafusia thing, is that something escaped from one of McGilli review ?
Something to annoy the poor eye sight of @semperfi55 ?
To the disappointment of the first and the moderate joy of the second this simply means in Latin : Proud (Probus) Schaffhausen (Scafusia) the good folks in the communicating team from IWC translated it in more intelligible manner as "Quality from Schaffhausen."

The crystal is Sapphire, I've tested it, properly, with a diamond tester and two Tissot Sapphire crystal as reference. Its lightly domed and have at least one layer or AR coating, but seeing how invisible it can be, I would believe this is inside/outside AR coating.
Being rather flat, there's no deformation of the dial induced by the crystal.

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngThe dial :

https://i.imgur.com/fPMKWoFb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6ZVwNdRb.jpg


Since there's absolutely no difference between the gen & the rep dial (aside from the level of finishing of course). I will not bore you with that part ... no I'll bore you with a lot of other things !
If by any chance you would doubt my previous statement, there's a simple trick that you can do if you are on a regular desktop browser : click and hold on the image from the left and drag it over the image on the right, beside a slight camera angle and the position of the hands, you won't see any difference between them. (gen : left.)

This dial is a white beam on your wrist, this is one of those watches that people will notice because of the shine coming out of it. I had the opportunity to compare mine with the one from an AD (from the outside, calm down) to see if the factory overdid the polish of the bezel and the shine of the dial & subdial and the answer is a clear no.
The gen dial is what is called "silver plated" a process by which a very fine silver film is applied before the final protective layer. Depending on subsequent steps taken the dial will reflect the light differently, ranging from bright white to off-white.
I've made some very close macro shot of the rep dial and compared them to high resolution macro shots from the gen dial (link) as far as I can tell the rep is perfectly replicating the silver plated effect.
To suppose that the factory in good ol' China went as far as silver plating their dial, there's only a little step... that I won't make since you can achieve the same level of finish by using aluminium dial base with a lot more control on the final result than with the silver plating technique. The final appearance then reside in the honing and lapping of the dial.

https://i.imgur.com/Om9IDcGb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sF9VnzAb.jpg


If the dial is lacking any distinguishable finishing, the subdials, however, are sporting a nice snailing pattern, very finely done, again, as per gen. I insist on the as per gen on this part even though I said I wouldn't dive into the comparison, because this is one of the details that nitpicker will try to point out to exclude this rep from being a silly "super rep". It would appear that the subdials are too shiny on the rep. As far as I could tell from the outside of the AD they are exactly the same.

On to the layout ! Why a 30 min counter at @12 and a running second @6 without any hour counter ? This movement is based on an ETA 7750, so why would they get rid of the hour counter that should be in place of the running second ? Beside the obviously boring part of being yet another 7750 layout this was done in homage of the traditional layout of marine chronometers that were usually having a running second @6 and a power reserve @12.

The hour & minute hands are leaves shaped, mirror finished and then heat blued, that give them sometime a black appearance and sometime when the light catch them a deep blue contrasted look.
The chrono second hand aka the big second hand has a very thin stick shape.
Both the big second hand and the minute hand have their point bent towards the dial, this make for an ultra-precise time indication.
The subdials hands are simple variant of a sword shape, couldn't find any specific name for them, sorry @semperfi55 ...

dsVBNetb.jpg e1Tite7b.jpg DYHhqlPb.jpg ZR6qfe0b.jpg


The Arabic numerals are raised from the dial, like ducks on an icy lake (come on, DUCKS !). Nicely heat blued and polished on the top, not so polished on the side (on the rep only) but impossible to notice without looking at a macro shot.
The minute marker dots are heat blued too and polished, having a bigger dot for each 5-minute mark.
The bezel numbers are pad printed on the slanted part of the inside bezel, pushing the precision of the time indication a step further, should you want to use the chrono and have the quarter of seconds indicated, you could !

Last elements of the dial, the Chronograph Automatic text aligned with the 9 marker and the IWC Schaffausen text NOT aligned with the 3 marker.
I've done extensive research trying to understand why they aligned only the Schaffausen part of the text with the 3 marker and not the whole block and I couldn't find any information on that.
Everything is perfectly symmetrical on that dial except that !
The 6 marker is surrounded by the remember that in opposition to the German-sounding hometown name of IWC HQ, this is indeed Swiss made. 

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngThe movement :

https://i.imgur.com/G419Ajxb.jpg

IWC 79350

https://i.imgur.com/eWb40yZb.jpg

A7750 29j slim


Powering this awesome watch is the infamous A7750 movement. A good choice for the accuracy and really one of the only available to be honest, any other non-custom-made movement would have resulted in a different subdial spacing, like some of the quartz model of this rep where the subdials are very close to the centre hub.

The gen is fitted with the IWC Calibre 79350 which is an ETA 7750 made according to IWC requirements by removing the date, day, hour register and moving the running seconds in the 6 o'clock position. IWC then inspects, finish and regulate it according to their high standard.
The gen is a 31 jewel movement with two finishes on it : the rotor and train bridge are in Côte de Genève, the rest of the visible parts are in Perlage. There's no blued screw only polished.

The rep is no different, the finishes are the same as on the gen, the only difference is the lack of engravings, namely the IWC name ; Made in Switzerland and the jewel count and adjustment notice.
The balance bridge is different on the rep, the gen is showing a micrometric adjustment screw, whereas the rep is using the classic A7750 regulating imitating a swan neck.

There's been a lot of evolution on this particular variation of the movement and I've been looking at RWI thread and other forum thread in order to come up with a condensed, yet complete information about it.
The most recent (say starting from mid-end 2016) occurrence of this ZF rep is really an improved version of the A7750 with a different approach for moving the normal running second @9 to the 6 o'clock position.
Everything prior to that and from other manufacturers are to be researched thoroughly if you don't want to be fooled.
There's been a supposed 29j improved version of this movement (I'm talking specifically for the 3714 IWC) that were only using one additional jewel and a skeletonised transfer gear to reduce wear on the teeth. Although being a valid solution this was not bombproof nor a correct way to do it (plus it's a lie on the jewel count...the regular A7750 is a 25 jewel, so this dirty fix makes it a 26j).

The movement inside this rep is a 29 jewel version that doesn't use a simple transfer gear to move the running second @6 but rather a series of jewelled (6 jewels) gears taking the second directly at the third wheel (for the non-movement expert : taking it at its source rather than "stealing" it from the second @9).
This is a clever, reliable and correct way to do it, very similar to what is used in the gen movement.

LOPWEyDb.jpg k2a57wEb.jpg j6IqhJTb.jpg


There's a fantastic movement teardown thread over at RWI (I've stolen some of the disassembly pics for illustration purposes), I'll link it at the end of the review, along with the thread talking about the fake 29j movement.

Does that mean you can freely and without any risk use the chrono on this A7750 ?
No, the added reliability only concerns the running second, the same precaution apply for this movement as for any other A7750. Without going any further into the debate to know if you can or can't use the chrono, let's just say that mine arrived with the chrono running (triggered during shipping) and having around 10 minutes registered on the @12 counter. I have not had any issue since, but I didn't start it again.
I would advise a proper and regular servicing of this movement if you intend to use the chrono often, that would minimise or at least alert on a potential breakage. Mine seems to be in good shape, giving a full 48hr power reserve at full wind.

A final general note on the A7750. This is my second one, the other one being an unmodified running into my Breitling Navitimer. The pushers are hard but feel solid, this is apparently the same on a genuine. The keyless work is finicky resulting in a crown that give a fragile feeling and that sometime miss a position. Don't worry, go easy on it, push it back in if you realise that the movement hasn't hacked or if you can't adjust the time, and try pulling on it again.

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngThe strap & buckle :

https://i.imgur.com/qeXeCstb.jpg

ZicZac strap fitted

https://i.imgur.com/7uDZDNNb.jpg

Bead blasted inside


This watch was bought M2M from the one and only carrot top of the forum, @GingerBlubba.
Being the ginger king, he's not much of an idiot and provided a very nice aftermarket Ziczac alligator strap with the watch.
The colour of the aftermarket strap suits this IWC very well but is a bit too saturated in comparison to the almost washed out blue of the gen strap.
The rep strap was also present in the nice box sent by the copper day walker.
Far from being a rubbish strap, it's real embossed leather, although a bit too stiff, the main problem with it is the colour, far too dark.

Fitted on that strap you'll be either delighted or slightly bored to find a single deployant clasp. If I were to borrow Tim Mosso (Youtube channel WatchBox Reviews) words : it's pleasing to see a deployant clasp on a precious time piece.
The clasp is rather long, which explain why the short end of the strap is so, well, short.
Three finishes are found on it, the first one is a high polish : classic. Then there's a brushed finish on the buckle part where the IWC letters are engraved (or more probably pressed) and lastly the inside of the deployant is bead blasted with an embossed IWC Schaffhausen text polished. My embossed text seems to have suffered a miss in the process, as you can clearly see a "doubled" effect on it, probably the result of an operator error in the fabricating process. TD pictures doesn't show this error.
On the back of one of the deployant arms you'll see a laser etched Swiss made Stainless Steel text with a UNROC logo.
I've done some research on this UNROC meaning, without any luck finding a definitive answer it seems to be the name of the maker of the clasp for IWC

The clasp feel solid, the click is reassuring and you don't feel that it'll open on you whilst wearing the watch.

That's all... wait... that's not all, there's something unusual about this strap and clasp, something very disturbing : it's reversed !
When pretty much everyone put the strap so that the long end will go into the keepers towards the "outside" of your wrist, this is the other way around, the keepers and the trailing end of the strap is towards you, the "inside".
There's a reason for that, IWC didn't go against the grain just to trigger people like me (and I'm sure other people on the board).
This was done to ensure that the clasp will always sit in the middle of the wrist and according to multiple sources, because on more "formal" watches this wouldn't show the end of the strap, making it look cleaner on the wrist for people watching it.
Since I can't stand that way of wearing a strap and no one ever looks at me, none the less at my wrist, I reversed it.

 

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.png My overall impression & Some beauty shots :

This was a longer review than I expected and I hope you tenacious readers that got to the end, won't be reluctant to read another of my reviews.
I don't like the terms "super rep" but I do like the concept of NWBIG (Not Worth Buying In Gen), some nitpicker will probably find details to bitch about and ditch this rep from being a super rep (although I think it's on RWI list) but one thing is for sure, this is not worth buying the gen.
With that level of detail, the only thing that's missing is a reliable chronograph. There's some slight modification to make in order to fit a gen movement inside the rep case (RWI have some threads about that) but if you really want to go that route and you are able to find a gen IWC 79350 movement, go ahead.
Special thanks to the Ginger for taking good care of this rep before selling it to me but I'm still missing the giant dildo you promised me !

Thanks for reading !

 BovxqGXb.jpg czGosDNb.jpg vvy1qIbb.jpg nA7syvob.jpg HZibEtAb.jpg  AoKXXGyb.jpg vY1mn9sb.jpg hmGZ78Gb.jpg qyU9anpb.jpg uiILmpmb.jpg brDndBbb.jpg 9uN8n2Rb.jpg qNYqI5tb.jpg 8WqXt05b.jpg YQIVuPDb.jpg NdJwqmdb.jpg TcK9NNFb.jpg VdjsvtQb.jpg vecVpKRb.jpg 66X9H7bb.jpg 25OpHv5b.jpg nhytOp6b.jpg npiRLFMb.jpg 5K7fbEsb.jpg HV2bES1b.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.png The RWI links :

https://forum.replica-watch.info/forum/iwc-international-watch-company-replicas/288719-zf-iwc-portuguese-3714-review-including-movement-break-down

https://forum.replica-watch.info/forum/francisco-s-seminario-closed/35049-review-of-the-new-29j-daytona-movement

And lets not forget and hefty round of tagging : @bdnica, @HeavyKrush, @Logixa, @Foxindebox, @RussP, @deju, @paccbet, @GC, @MAJ75@BenjaminButton, @Mr Stubbs, @tabuktime, @Luxuracer, @Junior88, @GenTLe, @everyone else !

Now that's a fucken' pretty, and manly watch ! Gotta get me one :) Thanks Mr G, beautiful review, beautiful pics, nicely put together review. I can see that you know your shit ... all power to you and to your obviously dedicated years of horological learning 

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GingerApple
3 minutes ago, DavidPS1 said:

Now that's a fucken' pretty, and manly watch ! Gotta get me one :) Thanks Mr G, beautiful review, beautiful pics, nicely put together review. I can see that you know your shit ... all power to you and to your obviously dedicated years of horological learning 

Hi noob, welcome and nice comments, but when you comment on large, picture filled posts, would you mind not quoting them in full as it's very annoying for those on mobiles. Glaude's review was boring enough first time round - I don't want to have to live through that shit in its entirety again.

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Chixisigma

@Glaude the lengths you guys go to for a review is extraordinary. Meticulous research, lovingly curated into a magical review of a beautiful watch. Wonderful stuff!

You make me grateful I 'ave one from YF

Rostbif down unda,

Cxs

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bdnica
19 hours ago, Glaude said:

ZF IWC Portugieser Chronograph 3714-46

3QB0Ih7l.jpg

 As usual, the pictures are reduced & cropped to fit the template of the review, I strongly encourage you to click on them to enjoy the full resolution & details.

 

If I had one handy, I'd insert a 'standing ovation' gif.  You've outdone yourself my friend.  I need to come up with something better than 'The Yoda of Reviews'.  Need something that exceeds even Yoda's skillset.    All due respect to los hermanos @semperfi55 and @McGilli who are both masters of the craft;  I think you need to stand and take notice.  There's a new sheriff in town... and he's kickin' ass and takin' names! 

Have you considered doing something on YouTube or VEVO?  Think you are more than capable of adding some video and voiceover to create something special.   I know there's rep reviews on YouTube but not sure if they violate any YouTube regs?  I'd bet you'd get enough subscribers and views to make at least a few bucks... although I understand your contract with RWG is now in the high six-figures?

I told you previously this has always been my most coveted watch.  Have a similar experience to  @GenTLe and in the same general geography:

16 hours ago, GenTLe said:

I have been in Montenapoleone street in Milano, which is the Italian version of Place Vendome in Paris, and I clearly remember still now that I got stuck in front of the IWC window literally salivating in front of the 3714-01 and regardless around there there were PP, Omega, Rolex and practically every possible luxury watch boutique.
This was the watch that triggered it all

For about a decade, I had a joint venture/partnership with an Italian pharma group in Milano so travelled there 4-5 times a year during those 10 years.  Almost always flying in an out of Malpensa, the return flight always very early in the morning.  The night before leaving generally involved a big dinner that went late in to the Port and Grappa night, so I'd  usually take the Malpensa Express in the early AM hours after dinner rather than pretend to sleep.  I'd spend the extra couple hours wandering the Duty Free shops (that seemed to go on forever!).  Most the high-end watch manufacturers were represented, and I'd lust after many different pieces.  But every time (and I mean EVERY time) I'd wander past the IWC window, there it was... calling to me with a siren song that would seduce Ulysses... the Portugieser Chrono.  (the white dial, blued hands of course!)  It was lust at first sight, and to this day remains by far my favorite rep that gets the most wrist time.  It's my wife's favorite too, especially with the sailcloth strap I just got for it (more about that later). 

I've promised myself a gen many times, and for the most part could have pulled the trigger without crashing my personal economy.   But I always procrastinated, and then eventually acquired the rep.  I found the rep satisfying to where I don't feel a strong urge to upgrade to the gen right now (that, and my personal economy has taken some blows since then....!).  But it was, is, and I suspect shall remain my first true love in watch world!

Great review Glaude!  Continue making us all proud!

 

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bdnica
57 minutes ago, DavidPS1 said:

https://i.imgur.com/AJDIhti.pngThe strap & buckle :

I have an aftermarket alligator strap too, although it sometimes seems overly 'dressy' for a watch that (IMHO) is designed to be both  a dress-up and dress-down watch.  IWC was offering  a line of 'Official Summer' sailcloth straps, one  that looked particularly nice on the Portugieser Chrono.  Made it appear more casual while still upscale, so thus more versatile.  IWC set a price that would make a loan shark blush, but I found a nice one on Amazon with decent sailcloth material with decent leather on the back.  The deployment clasp was easy to flip from the alligator to the sailcloth.  It's really comfortable and I like the look.  I'll put the alligator back on at some point but leaving it on the sailcloth for now (plus La Ninja likes wearing it with the sailcloth over the alligator!).  Am interested to see what options other than alligator you guys have played around with...

IMG-2942.jpg  IMG-2948-1.jpg

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GingerApple

Good point. I wish I'd experimented with straps before selling it to Glaude - because to look at, I love that watch, but it was too dressy for me so I'd only wear it at work. However at work, I like to have a date function, so it ended up that I'd never choose to wear it, hence the sale.

Perhaps if I'd tried a different strap, it would still be on my wrist instead of the garlic licker's.

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fabbe79

If I may let me share my Italian leather strap, custom made from an Italian artisan f591981475fbeb71da7730fed42c9586.jpg5ae4f6ce2c4cee533faa9d5d4cc56a66.jpg08be639cf237e4e77d8e8beed0e38173.jpg

 

Last picture is the rep strap on top of the raw material for the new strap

 

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