IWC Portofino

IWC / Intern. Watch Co. Portofino

An extremely rare, thin Schaffhausen pocket watch with moon phase. The movement in this watch began life in 1927 as the cal. 95 changing to the 952 with the addition of shock protection, and is now 9521 - specially designated for the gilded adornment and moonphase complication particular to this model. All of these movements were 17''' ligne, and remarkable for their less than 4 mm thickness. The cal. 9521 remains a full-bridge design (2 bridges and 4 cocks, actually) and is comprised of 161 different components, including the hand-formed Breguet balance spring and 19 jewels, many of which are set in gold chatons. IWC characterizes this arrangement of parts as providing 'such astonishing harmony and precision that it easily surpasses the standards set by the Swiss chronometer testing institute'. Add to that bit of modest advertising the fact that the movement is gilded, and you have one of the most beautiful movements ever produced by this venerable Swiss watch company.