Mario C 
Leave it to IWC to give one of their more understated collections a bit of bite! For 2025, the Portofino 37 is getting the love thanks to the Chinese New Year.
As is tradition at IWC Schaffhausen, 2025 marks the appearance of their newest Chinese New Year limited edition. However, they have been stepping up their game as of late. For the last two years – Year of the Rabbit and Dragon, respectively – they have made the addition of an engrave automatic rotor depicting the Zodiac animal on the back! It’s a change that seems extremely trivial, but added so much charm to each item, enhancing the ‘limited edition’ perception of them.
“So what?” The dissidents might be saying. “It’s just a new rotor!” And yes, they would be right in a way. However, in this watch world where things can become ‘limited edition’ solely because they changed the colour around, it’s nice to see a company as esteemed as IWC put in a decent effort into celebrating one of the most popular holidays in Eastern culture. The way in which they cycle through the collections is worthy of commendation, too, as no one collection is responsible for bearing the weight of becoming a limited edition.
This year, the IWC Portofino takes its turn in the spotlight as IWC uses it as a vehicle to depict 2025’s Chinese Zodiac animal: the snake! Like with most of IWC’s Chinese New Year watches, we start from the back, where the rotor can be seen through the sapphire crystal display case back. The sixth animal in the Zodiac, the snake, has always been the symbol of wisdom and agility, and its curved form has been engraved into the customised rotor for all to admire.
This rotor, in turn, powers the automatic Cal. 32800 and its moonphase complication, providing a monstrous 120-hour power reserve and a moonphase accuracy of a whopping 122 years! Granted, that’s not nearly as impressive as the whopping 42 million year accuracy of the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar, but that’s a piece unique that took an immense amount of time to develop. In any case, the Cal. 32800 works just fine as the horological base of the Portofino Automatic Moonphase 37, and only helps to enhance the elegant aesthetic of IWC’s other premiere dress watch collection.
As the name suggests, the Portofino Automatic Moonphase 37 stands at a smaller – but not diminutive – frame of 37mm wide, 43mm long, and 11.3mm thick. The dial, in line with previous limited editions, is adorned with the celebratory burgundy lacquer representing the vibrancy of fire. The backdrop is contrasted with the elegance of rose gold hands and indexes, complete with the Roman numeral VI (six) and the moonphase complication at 12 o’clock. The moon and stars are similarly finished in rose gold, and set atop a blue backdrop representing the night sky as it rotates along its path. Finally, the watch comes with two leather straps, one in black and the other in burgundy, to help either contrast or match the elegance of the lacquer.
My Thoughts
As I said before, something I really admire about IWC’s Chinese New Year limited editions is the execution. There are some brands out there that love to settle for a ‘limited edition’ by changing the dial colour and calling it a day, which can only damage them in the long run. What if that colour becomes trendy again in a few years?
I’m glad that IWC doesn’t have this problem. For one, they vary the collections every year as to keep the limited runs fresh, as well as making them stand out just enough to the prospecting consumer, but not so much that the price point is out of reach. The Cal. 32800 is an excellent horological base to begin with, so providing that in the modest package that is the Portofino whilst maintaining the exclusive aesthetic is certainly something to behold. While the design at this point is not entirely original anymore, IWC’s efforts are enough to have their Chinese New Year limited editions separate from the crowd, providing a rare design with an elegant flair, effectively celebrating Eastern culture for the world to see.
Reference: IW459604
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 37.1mm case diameter x 43mm lug-to-lug x 11.3mm thickness
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Dial: Burgundy dial, gold-plated hands and appliqués with a moonphase
- Movement: Automatic Cal. 32800 beating at 4Hz / 28,800 VpH and pivoting on 21 jewels
- Power Reserve: 120h
- Water Resistance: 50m (5bar)
- Strap: Black or burgundy calfskin with folding clasp & buckle
