Review : IWC Portuguese Automatic 7 Days (5001)

[Jb boin 0]

Brand: IWC

Model: Portuguese Automatic 7 Days (5001)

Movement: Asian 23j 21600bph

Crystal: Sapphire with AR (double sided)

Original Seller: PureTime

Price: 160-180$ (price excluding shipping and depending on the seller)

 

Thanks for wizardtiti on RWI who sent me this watch, i had to make a review because i really think this watch needs one as nobody ever talked about it and the rep seems pretty new (not sure about that)

 

Pictures: I made many pictures of it unfortunately my camera is a compact one that doesnt fit to do macro but i tried to do my best

You can see photos in full size here (there are way more pictures than in this page)

And here you can see pictures of the gen

 

First Impression: To make short, my opinion for now (after 1 day with it) is that watch is wonderful with a nice AR and transparent caseback, the dial (i really love the tall metal hour markers and the dial background that makes me think of anodised aluminium on bright light and not simple paint) and the hands are a true beauty with no flaws and the case quality looks quite nice.

 

Comparing to the genuine: Well... the most important flaws are the movement (its normal, we cant make a 21/23j looks like a 44j :shock: ) especially with the bad quality rotor that look like chromed metal and not brushed and the fact that is definitively doesnt seems to be correctly greased (i talk about it later).

The easiest to spot flaw is the white datewheel instead of the black one (it would be really nicer with a black one) and the date window is also not correct because there is a cyclop glass on the datewindow (that is in fact hard to spot).

I am not totally sure but it looks that the gen doesnt have a date change pusher on the side as the rep have one (but it looks nice and its rather discrete).

Gen:

 

Size and feel: It is a little bit thicker (without counting the crystal, if we do its almost the same on the center of the watch) and case size is almost the same than my 2 years old 108$ Omega SMP GMT (A21J) but it feels bulkier because the bracelet doesnt fit my wrist and the crystal is almost totally flat so the watch looks like a block on my small wrist compared to the SMP that is thin in the bezel, there is no rotating bezel (and so the dial and hands are bigger which looks nice) and thin hands makes it more discrete. And you can see through crystal from any position (you can see it on the crown picture).

 

In fact it doesnt fit my tiny wrist as the SMP and it finally doesnt fit better than a Montblanc Timewalker Chrono (A7750) (what i tought at first). I think its mainly because of the bracelet and clasp that doesnt fit really nicely my wrist and also because the caseback of the IWC is bigger than the two others and as the bracelet doesnt tightens my wrist enough the watch looks loose on it.

 

The IWC is way lighter than the SMP but i cant compare a diving watch with a metal bracelet and a dress watch with a leather one

 

The movements: The rotor is making enormous noise and i can feel it when it moves fast (i had the same feeling/noise on a 40$ Daytona in the past), in comparison, i dont feel or hear the rotor of my SMP.

I recorded the sound it produce (not the best recording but i did it with my iPhone) : http://plusquenet.net/watches/rotor.m4a

 

After almost 1 month of use the rotor movements became even worse with more noise i have to manually rewind the watch as i dont wear it while sleeping and as it doesnt autorewind correctly.

 

I finally managed to find what was the problem with the rotor, its that the rotor seems to touch the case on some spot; after 2 months and a half, there is less fricition but the problem is that now there is metal dust on the watch :P

So i ordered a tool to open the case and i will try to clean it

 

For the rest, as i am not an expert i cant say much thinks except that the power reserve works fine (about 2 days ~=7hours for 1day marker) and that the watch looks to be manually rewinding quite fast.

 

Also, the rotor finish is quite horrible and the decorative metal brushing doesnt look as nice as on my brother Montblanc Timewalker Chrono (A7750) but its still very decent.

 

The Crown: The crown is really nice and is not mirrored as with some cheap IWC reps.

I cant operate the crown as i dont have much fingernails (a bit anoying as i can without problems on my SMP for example), i have to use a little screwdriver or my teeth (at least it cant easily scratch case) to open it and i havent found a way to change date by itself as the crown is not with 2 positions like the SMP (if you have the solution tell me)

 

The strap: Honestly, it doesnt feel very nice, its definitively not soft and it looks and feel like plastic (had the same kind of feeling as on my brother MontBlanc TimeWalker Chrono with A7750).

The clasp finish is not perfect (badly centered engraved text and average overall finish but looks solid); it open/close firmely, its operating nicely and its easier to open/close after 1 month (at the begenning it was quite hard)

 

The other problem is that with my very small wrist size, the watch doesnt really follow my wrist so it looks a little weird but it will be the same with many other bracelets

 

The bracelet near the clasp takes a V shape that doesnt follow my wrist and is uncomfy because the metal part of the clast press on my wrist (bracelet and watch doesnt surround my wrist) and makes the watch to go outside of my wrist (not sure its totally clear :roll: )

I can put a finger between the bottom of my bracelet and my wrist and i am on the tightest hole :(

 

In comparison, the SMP bracelet fits better to my wrist as the clasp is really under the wrist and not on the "edge" of it. The MontBlanc strap which is of a more usual conception (no metal part for easy open/close) fits way better to my wrist and it has holes for smaller wrist sizes.

 

Flaws: There are few flaws, the most important in my opinion is the yellow of the IWC logo on the rotor that is not well at all (in fact, totally crappy)

 

Another small flaw is a little darker area on the metal of the case (hard to take with my camera but you can notice on the left of the case in this pic) but anyway, it can be fixed easily.

 

The 'maybe not correctly greased' rotor problem is another problem that is more serious but im not sure if i just got a bad watch or if its 'a feature' of this movement (also used in Ingénieur if i am right) :roll:

 

One flaw that also may be problematic is that there is a spot on the back glass that looks like there is a bubble on the glass or maybe a dent (hard to know what it isand hard to photograph). I am not sure it the glass is Crystal or not and i am not sure if its really water resistent... (if someone knows)

 

Conclusion: If you pass the few small flaws (and the rotor problem that may be just on my watch), this watch is a true beauty with a very nice AR, really good looking and even with a transparent caseback (which is a thing that i really like), as you can find it at about 160$ i think its a great deal, but you may want to change the strap if you dont like the usual cheap leather strap feel soo it can raise the final price (but its the same with all the watches at this pricetag).

I wouldnt recommand it for peoples with small wrist such as mine

You could also want to modify the datewheel and datewindow to make it like a gen but i wont do it as i am not an expert

 

And i dont feel confident about the water resistance, i am afraid to put water on it; as i always took my baths/showers for 2 years with my SMP i am disapointed but its not a real problem, i cant take the SMP for these :P

 

Here are some other pictures:

Wrist shot with the SMP and a 40$ LV (a very crappy one) :

Some pics took with my iPhone on a small trek :

With my brother Montblanc Timewalker Chrono (A7750) :

Edited November 14, 2009 by Jb boin

[greg_r 81]

Great review!

 

Interesting to see, actually - I'd not come across that particular IWC rep before.

[trailboss99 994]

Nice review indeed! Especialy since English is not your native language. If I could write that well in French I be a happy man.

 

Mate, all the metal dust in there is gunna destroy that MVT in short order. If I were you I'd stop wearing it untill it's cleand out. Not that a new MVT is exactly expensive (I think I can get that style of 21j from my wholesaler) but it's a pain to have to swap it.

 

 

Thanks, Col.

[Member X 91]

Very nice

 

Good pics too! Nice scenery you have

 

I actually quite like that cheap LV lol

[Novesh 0]

sweeet

[AustinTech 0]

Nice review. Nice watch, too.

[Jb boin 0]

Thanks everybody for the comments

 

Nice review indeed! Especialy since English is not your native language. If I could write that well in French I be a happy man.

 

Mate, all the metal dust in there is gunna destroy that MVT in short order. If I were you I'd stop wearing it untill it's cleand out. Not that a new MVT is exactly expensive (I think I can get that style of 21j from my wholesaler) but it's a pain to have to swap it.

 

 

Thanks, Col.

I dont wear it since about 1 month and i purchased a caseback opener ball on ebay one month ago but i think that it has been lost so i wait few more days and the seller will ship me another one that i hope will arrive

[reoquinn 0]

Awesome review! I have just purchased this same watch from watcheden, but, because of the Canada Post strike I been waiting for it for weeks now, hoping the strike would end soon..

 

Thanks for the great review.. keep them coming!

 

 

Rob

[Renego 0]

160-180$ ? Is it possible that these watches have doubled in price since 2009 ?

[Mike Advice PI 0]

Different watch these days. Very good rep with working PR and good date wheel. ZF is widely thought to be the better factory.

 

Now I must return to my crypt.

[Revolution 0]

160-180$ ? Is it possible that these watches have doubled in price since 2009 ?

 

Oh something new, I open it and this! It should a crime punishable by chopping of the nuts to bump a thread older than 18 months!