The Watches and Wonders edition of 2024 undoubtedly made waves. The most anticipated days on the global watchmaking scene were incredibly intense and full of novelties that, as always, sparked interest, sometimes doubts, in all enthusiasts.
Among the most important novelties presented during the fair, the incredible IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar cannot without a doubt be missing. Therefore, without further ado, I present to you this fantastic timepiece.
The Eternal Calendar or Secular Perpetual Calendar
As you may have noticed, the watch presented by IWC is not just a perpetual calendar, but an eternal calendar or more commonly “Perpetual Secular.” Surely, your first reaction is “and what’s the difference?” Although in Italian “perpetuo” and “eterno” are synonymous, in watchmaking these two terms take on and will take on a very different meaning from now on.
As you all know, the perpetual calendar is a very important complication in watchmaking that not only allows the days of each month to be counted, taking into account months with 28 days, those with 30 and those with 31, it even manages to take into account the infamous leap year divisible by four. An incredible feat that makes the perpetual calendar one of the most complicated functions in watchmaking.
Nevertheless, the perpetual calendar is not perfect. In the Gregorian system, there is another detail fundamental to synchronizing our time with solar time that the perpetual calendar fails to take into account, however. In fact, a year is leap year, not only when it can divide by four, but also only if it is divisible by 400. This implies that every four centuries, three secular years (e.g. 2100, 2200, 2300) will not be leap years. So an eternal calendar is a perpetual calendar that every 400 years skips the three secular non-leap years.
So, IWC’s secular perpetual calendar will be able to accurately account for all leap years until at least 3999. This is because the community has not yet decided whether 4000 will be a leap year or not. Unbelievable!
The Aesthetics of the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
In addition to its incredible technical mastery, the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar can boast an enviable aesthetic, notwithstanding its complexity. The 44 mm case made of platinum, decorated by alternating polished and brushed finishes, is topped by a stunning curved sapphire crystal that wraps around the entire dial, which is also curved at the edges.
Specifically, the dial is made of glass through a complex series of steps. First, the lower part is satin-finished and lacquered white, meanwhile the counters are individually machined and applied later.
Then it’s the turn of the indexes that are hand-applied and the minute-track prints on the flange, and finally the elegant a hands that indicate hours and minutes.
To enrich the aesthetics of the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, we find this stunning curvature of the dial and domed sapphire crystal. Finally, there is a circular aperture on the dial that makes the watch’s centuries-old mechanism visible.
Despite the technical complexity, the watch is very intuitive to read. In the counter at 3 o’clock we find the power reserve indicator (light sphere) and the month (dark sphere), at 6 o’clock we have the month, between 7 and 8 o’clock we find a window indicating the year, and at 9 o’clock the seconds (light sphere) and the days of the week (dark sphere). Finally at 12 o’clock we have the moon phase display.
Now we reveal another gem of this timepiece. Thanks to relentless research and development, engineers have succeeded in an unprecedented feat. According to calculations, thanks to the new mechanism adopted for the moon phases in the new eternal calendar, the display will deviate from the actual orbit by only one day in 45 million years!
Rotating the watch, we can observe the new IWC-manufactured caliber 52640 from the sapphire crystal case back. In addition to the skeletonized oscillating weight engraved with IWC’s logo and 7-day power reserve, we can see perlage and Côtes de Genève finishes on the plate and bridges.
The energy that powers the watch is stored on two barrels through the Pellaton winding system, and the parts most exposed to wear are made of highly resistant zirconium oxide ceramic. Finally, water resistance of 5 bar is indicated on the edge of the case back.
Price and Availability
The list price of the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar is EUR 175,000.00.
Final Thoughts
IWC’s Eternal Calendar is definitely one of the most interesting new products presented at Watches and Wonders 2024.
The best aspect of this timepiece is the marriage achieved between the complexity of the mechanism and an incredibly modern and essential aesthetic. The depth of the glass dial and the doming of the flange, coupled with the circular opening on the mechanism restore a fascinating play of depth.
With this timepiece, IWC confirms itself as a major player in the watchmaking world, especially when it comes to perpetual calendars, in which the manufacture has a long tradition of excellence.
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