Thanks for the great report!
I have always had my eye on the IWC Portuquese handwound models, and I think this is the most beautiful one yet. Except for the size.
Recently, I tried on an Omega model - a Railmaster - with a handwound movement, at 49mm. I must say that, while it looked huge on my wrist, it looked no larger than this one does. Perhaps the person who models it has a small wrist?
Still, when I see the picture of the movement, and how it fills the case, it tends to make me forgive the large size. At least the case is not superficially large, like I see in so many larger watches. It would be a lot nicer, though, at 40 or 42mm. The idea of using a smaller movment would work, although with such a minimal bezel I really wonder if the difference would be that apparent.
Not to appear overly critical, I would think that with a model this size, they could design it with a small seconds that does not interfere with the numbers or markers on the dial. Since I got my Omega Speedmaster, at 42mm, on which the proportion and balance of each part of the dial, especially the subdials, are near perfect, perhaps I tend to be overly critical of other watches. No single element on the dial interferes with the other. Still I imagine the position of the small seconds on the IWC is restricted by the movement layout.
I feel, however, it could still be considered a dress watch, although I feel that for a real dress watch a maximum size of about 38 or 39mm is ideal.
Cheers,
Carl
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2012 05:53PM by Carl.
