5251 IWC Portofino Moonphase

This is an IWC you probably won’t have seen or heard of. It’s a ref. 5251, the picture of 1980s excess in two dimensions: 46mm wide but a remarkable 9.5mm thin. This thing makes the Padellone look like a tea saucer in both dimensions, but it’s not without reason. Kurt Klaus had a lot of bandwidth at IWC in the 1980s, he had a track record of success. And Mr. Klaus believed that the historic 9251 pocket watch movement, integral to IWC’s history with roots back to the calibre 74, belonged in more than antiquity. It might be the most delicately styled above-45mm watch, the proportions betray its outright romance, which is palpable.

The 5251 effectively debuted the Portofino line in 1984, but was wildly different to what came afterwards. The use of calibre 9251 dictated some strange proportions but also a moonphase at 3, highly unusual. This is probably the most real estate and size ever given to read and it’s lapis. If the moonphase is the most romantic complication, and it is, this is the greatest priority it’s ever held on a dial. If you take a look at its pocket watch sibling, which goes by ref 5250, you’ll seet everything has effectively been rotated 90 degress to make the crown sit correctly. In both, the calibre itself is only 4mm thin, leading to an otherworldly case elegance. Its believed to have been slowly produced from the 80s until the mid 90s, during which time about 350 examples are thought to have been produced. It’s both the ur-Portofino and bit of a dark horse.

Context is important here though. This was an oversized case with a pocket watch calibre at a time when smaller quartz watches were what consumers actually bought. That’s bolder than 46mm. This came down to IWC’s Marketing Director Hannes Pantli, who loved Italian style and wanted to see a large round mechanical dress watch in the IWC range. It’s insane that this project ever got the green light. Yes, it’s a bit strange. Yes, it’s a bit insane. But mostly, it has real personality because it stands so far apart to anything else made at its time. It’s an inside-baseball classic for IWC-heads. For the rest of us, it’s the most badass way you could possible answer someone who walks up to ask, ‘Hey, could you tell me what phase of the moon cycle we’re currently in?’

This example is remarkable. It comes with its full set, in what is being described as NOS condition as it’s hard to argue. The hallmarks definitely haven’t been touched and I can’t even see signs of wear. The set dates to 1995. It comes from a well-regarded Swedish collector.