Unveiled in 1998, the original Replica IWC Portugieser Chronograph ref. 3714 had a surprisingly long life, managing to be a bestseller for 22 years – and a lucrative franchise for IWC.
Now it has finally been replaced by the new Portugieser Chronograph ref. 3716 that looks almost identical, but is powered by a proprietary movement.
Now the ref. 3716 joins the regular collection, IWC Replica with steel or 18k rose gold case, as well as all of the dial variants that were offered for the outgoing ref. 3714.
That means the quintessential Portugieser Chronograph in steel matched a silver dial, gold numerals and gold hands is still available.
The new IWC Portugieser Chronograph Replica is slightly larger than the original, but the differences are so slight that they are not apparent at all. The new model is 41 mm in diameter and 13.1 mm high, compared to 40.9 mm by 12.6 mm for the original.
Fake IWC labels the cal. 69355 in-house, but the movement is part of the 69000 family, which incorporates some basic components of the Valjoux 7750, most notably the going train and barrel.
