Portofino

The IWC Portofino is the quieter side of Schaffhausen: round cases, slender hands and restrained dials, with enough variation beneath that shared vocabulary to make the family name only a starting point. Since its 1984 debut as a large, hand-wound watch with a moon-phase display, it has grown into a collection spanning compact automatics, chronographs and more elaborate calendar watches.

The Portofino Automatic 3513 belongs to an earlier, smaller generation, distinct from the later 40mm Portofino Automatic. The Portofino Automatic 37 offers another compact interpretation. Chronographs change the dial’s rhythm with subdials and pushers: the familiar 42mm Portofino Chronograph and the Portofino Chronograph 39 share the family’s dressier instincts without wearing identically.

Hand-wound models reveal a different side of the range. The 45mm Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days pairs its expansive dial with caliber 59210, a power-reserve indicator and small seconds. Moon-phase displays connect later versions to the original concept, while the Portofino Perpetual Calendar brings substantially more calendar information to the otherwise restrained dial language.