Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen’s new Portofino Hand-Wound Day & Date timepiece is a fine combination of supreme precision and timeless appeal. Featuring a large date and day display, the watch is extremely practical.

“At IWC one of our aims has always been to make watches that combine functionality with elegant, clear-cut design,” says IWC CEO Georges Kern. And he is absolutely right, for this timepiece – like others crafted by IWC Schaffhausen – reflects “interplay between precision and imagination,” and “time and timelessness.”

With features like easy-to-read number indicators on the dial and the date indicator in large digits at 12 o’clock, the mechanical hand wound day and night Portofino watch exudes the typical subtle elegance of the Portofino series. The two discs on the dial are perfectly synchronized by the newly-developed IWC 59220 caliber. In other words, the watch shows you the time in hours, minutes and seconds, along with the day and date. This latest member of the Portofino family has an eight-day movement along with a 192-hour power reserve. When you run out of power, the power reserve display on the dial will indicate when you need to wind the crown and replenish its power.

The sapphire glass back reveals large bridges with Geneva stripes and circular-grained plates. Available in stainless steel with silver-plated dial, the hands and indices feature rhodium plating, while the red-gold version has a slate-colored dial and timelessness imbued through the gold-plated hands and 18k red-gold indices. The alligator straps in black and brown leather, crafted by noted Italian shoemaker Santoni, add an understated appeal to the timepiece. Also, the watch is 3-bar water resistant.

Smitha Sadanandan