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For the second time, IWC Schaffhausen pays homage to a Swiss boatbuilder Boesch with a special edition of its Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph. This newcomer also features mahogany as the dominant element – a mahogany-colored dial and from the inside of the glass back cover there is a mahogany inlay and stylized ship’s propeller made especially for the watch by Boesch itself.
IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Boesch” is the elegant sports chronograph equipped with the in-house manufactured caliber 89361 mechanical movement with a flyback function and an analogue display of stop times longer than a minute on a sub-dial. The IWC-manufactured caliber oscillates at the rapid frequency of 28,800 alternation per hour and is capable to store enough power to keep the watch ticking for at least 68 hours.
Underneath the front sapphire glass lies a gorgeous mahogany dial with the classic railway-track-styled chapter ring, slender feuille-styled hands and simple Arabic numerals as hour markers. All these are the key design elements which are typical for the original Portugieser from 1939.
The clearly structured dial also features a white stopwatch hand, a flange with its quarter-second scale for measuring short stop times, as well as the luminescent seconds and hour hands and indexes for the best legibility in low lightening conditions.
The Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Boesch” is housed in a stainless steel case measuring 43.5mm in diameter and 14.5mm in thickness. The screw-down crown, protective shoulders and the chronograph push-pieces emphasize the special status of the Yacht Club Chronograph model within the Portugieser watch family. The case is shielded with convex sapphire glass with antireflective coating on both sides. The case construction offers a decent water resistance up to 60 meters (approximately 200 feet).
The latest addition to the Portugieser collection comes with a rugged black strap made of rubber with an alligator leather inlay for the utmost comfort. A stainless steel folding clasp will keep the watch secured on its future owner’s wrist.
The IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Boesch” (ref. IW390504) is produced in the limited series of only 150 numbered pieces. They can be purchased exclusively through IWC Swiss retailers for the retail price of Euro 13,500 (approximately $15,000) each.
The Swiss boatbuilder Boesch is the last in the world to produce serial mahogany runabouts. The famed manufacturer has become a leader in making stylish and functional electric boats, propelled by power cells from the defense industry. The company is located in Kilchberg, a quiet village near Zürich, Switzerland.