Enduring Legacy
IWC Schaffhausen honours the legacy and perpetual calendar mastery of Kurt Klaus with its new models.
by The Time Place Magazine
In the world of haute horlogerie, few names command as much respect as Kurt Klaus, the legendary watchmaker of IWC Schaffhausen. As IWC celebrates Klaus’s 90th birthday, the brand reflects on his groundbreaking work on the perpetual calendar—a complication that remains central to IWC’s collections today. Klaus’ perpetual calendar, introduced at the Basel Watch Show in 1985 with the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, revolutionised the field and set a new standard in watchmaking for functionality and user-friendliness.
The Perpetual Calendar
Klaus’s invention continues to influence IWC’s main collections, including the Pilot’s, Portugieser, and Portofino lines, which proudly showcase perpetual calendar models that honour his legacy.
First up is the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe (Ref. IW503008). This model stands as a modern embodiment of Klaus’s genius within IWC’s iconic Pilot’s Watches. Sturdy yet elegant, the TOP GUN Lake Tahoe edition features a robust 46.5 mm white ceramic case, a black dial, and black hands with white Super-LumiNova®. Inside beats the IWC-manufactured 52615 calibre movement, which, with its seven-day power reserve and precise moon phase accuracy, showcases Klaus’s prowess and timeless approach to engineering.
Second is the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (Ref. IW503703). The Portugieser line holds a special place in IWC’s repertoire of high complications. The completely re-engineered Perpetual Calendar 44, launched this year at Watches & Wonders, is available in four versions, two come in 18-carat white gold with Horizon Blue and Dune dials, while two models are presented in 18-carat Armor Gold®, with either an Obsidian black or a Silver Moon dial. Powered by the IWC-manufactured 52616 calibre movement with a seven-day power reserve, it integrates IWC’s Double Moon™ display, capturing the lunar phases visible from both hemispheres.
This is followed by the Portofino Perpetual Calendar (Ref. IW344602). In the Portofino collection, IWC introduces the perpetual calendar in a more compact 40 mm case, available in 18-carat 5N gold or stainless steel. Driven by the IWC-manufactured 82650 calibre movement, featuring automatic Pellaton winding with ceramic components and a power reserve of 60 hours, it maintains the functionality and elegance of Klaus’s original design with a moon phase display that requires adjustment only after 577.5 years.
The Portugieser
At Watches & Wonders 2024, IWC showcased its latest achievement in the realm of high complications: the Portugieser Eternal Calendar (Ref. IW505701), which won the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2024.. Building on Klaus’s modular perpetual calendar design, this watch adds a “secular perpetual calendar,” incorporating a 400-year gear that accounts for the complex leap-year exception rules of the Gregorian calendar. With its extremely precise Double Moon™ phase display, accurate to within one day every 45 million years, this model encapsulates Klaus’s forward-thinking vision, as it has also been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the “most precise lunar phase wristwatch”. The 44.4 mm platinum case houses the newly developed IWC-manufactured 52640 calibre movement.
Another recent high complication offering from IWC, the Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (Ref. IW545901), also introduced at Watches & Wonders 2024, underscores the brand’s commitment to pushing engineering and aesthetic boundaries. Encased in a 42.4 mm, 18-carat Armor Gold® case with an Obsidian lacquered dial, this timepiece features a captivating globe-shaped day-and-night indicator alongside the tourbillon—a first for IWC. It features the hand-wound IWC-manufactured 81925 calibre movement, which has an 84-hour power reserve.
As we honour Kurt Klaus’s contributions, it is clear his vision continues to guide IWC. From the rugged Pilot’s Watches to the distinguished Portugieser and elegant Portofino lines, each timepiece in IWC’s collections embodies Klaus’s philosophy: a harmony between simplicity, precision, and elegance. As IWC looks forward, the brand remains committed to Klaus’s ethos of engineering timepieces that balance high complications with user-friendly design.
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