Recently, my mind stumbled upon a new measure of greatness, or lack thereof, to look for in a prospective purchase. It works in the context of cars, cameras, clothes, and, I think, watches, too. It is a pretty simple question that goes something like: “Would I be thinking of or missing any other item when using this one?” Hopefully, at least some of you can relate to the situation in which you have an extensive wishlist of watches or whatnot, and you find yourself jumping among all those options, hardly finding any one of them fully satisfactory. Finding one that answers the aforementioned question eliminates the rest of the list, thus helping you return to restful nights. I chose to review the UK perfect replica IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 In Armor Gold because I wanted to see whether it was a watch one could own and not miss another timepiece for good.
The concept of the go-anywhere-do-anything (or GADA) watch has been around for long — too long, perhaps — which explains the plague-like spread of integrated steel bracelet watches, a style that has overruled watch design and watch purchase decisions in virtually every price segment. The watch we are reviewing today, this big, heavy lump of gold matched to a stiff alligator strap and a dauntingly black dial, is, in a way, the antithesis of your integrated bracelet, high-water-resistance GADA watch. So, here is question #2 for us: Can it nevertheless constitute the be-all and end-all for some?
For a start, we should state the obvious: The best fake IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 watches are mature watches, and it is not difficult to argue it is also a mature person’s watch. Yes, it is in 18k red gold — dubbed Armor Gold by IWC — but it also comes in 18k white gold for those looking for something a bit more discreet. Armor Gold IWC is not particularly specific about, but it claims, “The gold is alloyed with other materials and in this way assumes the desired color. The material is produced using a sophisticated process, during which the microstructure of the alloy is transformed. As a result, the material is significantly harder and more wear-resistant as conventional 5N gold.”
Given that this reference IW503702 is overwhelmingly black — the dial, the strap, and importantly also many of the reflections on the case and bezel — it appears to downplay its precious nature and mighty price tag at least a bit. This is quickly balanced out by the obvious complexity of the dial and the consequent complexity of the movement underneath. During its recent update, high quality replica IWC watches have fine-tuned the proportions of the Portugieser collection for 2024. In my hands-on debut, I called it a “drop-dead gorgeous” watch. “Beautifully proportioned, nicely executed, and somehow… Dense-looking. As if you took much of what was beefy, robust, engineered, and refined in a watch, put it all in a mold, and subjected all that to very high, very even pressure.” Through extensive wear, this sentiment continues to linger, while new-found touches of refinement also come out to play.
More specifically, the new Portugieser case is slightly slimmer and overall “less” in volume than its predecessors, with noticeably more slender lugs and a bezel you have to actively seek to find at all. Upon closer inspection, it reveals its cunning concave shape, a rare and expensive-looking touch. The narrow and thin bezel has given way to a massive sapphire crystal on the front with one of the taller boxed edges around its periphery. A cool detail: cheap super clone IWC went for a front crystal whose vertical edge does not distort at all. This is very rare, for boxed crystals tend to introduce some sort of distortion around their edge, but the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 gives a crystal-clear (pardon the pun) view, allowing the wearer to appreciate the elaborate dial furniture from a new and entertaining angle, a bit as though they were looking at an uncased dial.
Speaking of the dial, it is an outstanding feature of the UK online copy IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 watches — and not only because it is wider than before or because it has as many indications as a ’90s Hi-Fi tower. Not every expensive watch has an expensive-looking dial, but the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar certainly does, especially here, in this glossy black. It even plays a trick on the senses: IWC’s official product page simply describes it as “black” which is one of the more profound under-representations of an actually impressive feature.
Reality stands in stark contrast with the product page in other, more important ways, too. The latter shows a black dial with a sunburst brushed finish with a metallic touch, while on the wrist this Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 appears to have a glossy dial so even and shiny that it looks more like enamel than anything else. It is not enamel, but under just about every lighting condition it has a glass-like surface with a reflective effect and beautifully even glow — again, just like a dial covered with enamel or multiple layers of lacquer. While this may be a matter of taste, after all, I will go out on a limb that this lacquer-like, glossy effect is almost objectively preferable to a harsher sunburst finish.
This effect is complemented by a bevy of shiny golden dial appliqués and hands, each meticulously crafted and installed, as they should be. There is no lume anywhere to be found on this shop replica IWC Portugieser watches, but even in the very faintest light every Arabic numeral and hand is plenty reflective enough to enable legibility. The typography and spacing are pretty solid, too, as even the smaller displays can be read with relative ease — with an emphasis on “relative” as far-sighted wearers will be hard-pressed to read just about any perpetual calendar, and especially the pointer date at 3 o’clock on this one.
A particularly nice touch is a golden ring placed right at the base of the central hands. Accurately crafted and installed, and also beveled and polished, it is a cunning little detail that buy fake IWC watches use to disguise the elevated positioning of the main hands. This is necessitated by all the other displays on the dial, as the main hands have to pass over the many appliqués and subdials, especially the two stacked hands of the 3 and 9 o’clock subdials. Thankfully, the beastly 52616 caliber can move these long and wide, leaf-shaped main hands with ease.
Speaking of the machine within the AAA copy IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 watches, IWC’s in-house caliber 52616 is a true powerhouse. First, it is an enormous movement with a whopping 38.20mm diameter — many popular watches measure this much, or less, all cased up — and all this space is put to good use. It has two series-coupled mainspring barrels that provide 168 hours of power reserve, replenished by the brand’s famous Pellaton winding system with ceramic pawls and wheel, all visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. Thankfully, this bi-directional self-winding system works quietly — not as silently as Rolex’s Perpetual system, but discreetly enough for it to not be noticeable or annoying even for somebody like me, cursed blessed with bat-shaming hearing.
For reference, the full list of features includes bi-directional self-winding, hacking seconds, a power reserve display, a perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day of the week, month, “digital” year, and phase of the moon, plus an openworked self-winding rotor in solid 18k 5N gold and, of course, hours and minutes. The watch leaves IWC with all indications aligned perfectly, so all you have to do is pull the crown to its first position, start adjusting the date, and all indications will follow. Sadly, setting backward is not possible, so if you overdo it, you will have to leave the UK 1:1 wholesale replica watches stopped until the actual date catches up with the displays or, if you overshoot by much, it will have to go back for a service. Ideally, this should be a set-and-forget affair, further assisted by the convenient 7-day power reserve.
Aesthetics-wise the IWC Caliber 52616 is, above all, an imposing movement. It is so not just because of its sheer size and massive self-winding rotor — the size of a Rich tea biscuit — but also its nauseating labyrinth of bridges and cutouts. A closer look reveals a very consistent and high, but not hand-finished quality across all components. There is a lot that the 52616 puts on show, and it is all the more entertaining a movement for it. It is not uncommon for luxury fake watches even in this elevated segment to leave a bit too much to the imagination, either with a rather uninspired base movement architecture or with large and solid plates blocking much of the view. With the Portugieser Perpetual, you can dive deep into the movement and indulge in the fun of figuring out how torque is distributed from the barrels, how the Pellaton system works in either direction of the rotor’s movement, and how challenging it must have been to make all these plates and bridges appear to fall into place so easily.
On the wrist, the 44.4mm wide and 14.9mm thick Swiss replica IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 watches are imposing and bold, but not inelegant. On a wrist wider than my 6.75″ it will look better proportioned to the wearer and thus all the more elegant. Despite its gold and black outfit, it won’t pass as a dress watch in the eyes of many — they could argue that would take a narrower and thinner Portugieser — but the wide dial and its numerous indications enforce the image of a highly complicated watch. In other words, the Portugieser Perpetual is one of those few large watches that does not appear to be large just for the sake of it but justifies its generous proportions through functionality and complexity visible both from the front and back.
It also looks pretty darn expensive. Like many of you out there, I am surrounded by friends and family with a very limited (or zero) interest in watches, especially luxury watches. I tend to seek their input as one more interesting reference point on what they think looks expensive, and what does not. Arguably unbeatable for the rest of eternity in this game is this CIGA Design watch that I reviewed last year, but it is safe to say that this gold and black IWC looked not only expensive but luxurious, to everyone I asked. Whether that is a positive, or the contrary, is all up to you, of course. The same goes for the heft that comes with such a large watch fitted with a gold case and heavy movement.
Personally, I view the Portugieser Perpetual as a watch industry staple, a poster child of modern high-end watchmaking. I consider it to be instantly recognizable as a complicated Swiss timepiece not just for us, watch nerds and enthusiasts, but also for the wider public, and as such, I believe it should, by all means, look and feel expensive and luxurious. UK High end replica IWC watches managed to maintain this impression even with noticeably less gold (in the bezel and lugs) begging for the onlooker’s attention and has also succeeded in keeping this an imposing and noticeable, but not brash or overly ostentatious package. And, again, you can play it down further by choosing white gold that disguises itself as steel.
In closing, let us answer the question we asked in the first paragraph: Can this be a watch to make you put all others aside? Having worn it extensively, I believe that, yes, it can be. Not a blanket statement, far from it, but I do believe that this smart- and grand-looking Portugieser Perpetual has what it takes to impress and entertain from every aspect, be it on or off the wrist, or from a technical or aesthetic approach. It is also a combination of functionality and presentation that is unlikely to ever go out of style — especially if you have a wrist wide enough to wear it like normal site replica watches, and not as a late joiner to the large-watch trend.