The IWC Portofino was introduced in 1984, but its design language was born a decade earlier. In the 1970s IWC built a Lepine-style pocket watch, reference 5250, with slim Roman numerals, Breguet-style hands and a moon-phase display, driven by the pocket-watch calibre 9521. As the quartz crisis pushed watches toward ever-smaller, battery-driven cases, IWC's marketing director Hannes Pantli wanted to return classic round dress watches to the catalogue. The brand's design head Hanno Burtscher and master watchmaker Kurt Klaus reimagined that pocket-watch movement as a wristwatch, rotating the dial 90 degrees and placing a moon phase at 3 o'clock.
The result was the reference 5251, the first Portofino, soon nicknamed the 'Giant Portofino.' At 46mm wide yet just 9.5mm thin, it was extraordinary for the era, when most watches measured under 40mm. The original had a yellow-gold case and a white enamel dial, with a hand-wound pocket-watch movement, small seconds at 9 o'clock and the moon phase at 3 o'clock. The gold moon set against a blue sky in the large white aperture reminded many collectors of a fried egg, earning the watch a second affectionate nickname. Only about 350 examples are believed to have been made, which is why the original 5251 is so prized by collectors today. The name came from Portofino, the picturesque fishing village near Genoa that symbolises the unhurried elegance of the Italian Riviera.
From that bold beginning, the Portofino grew into IWC's core line of round, classically proportioned watches. The collection settled into more wearable sizes and expanded across complications: the three-hand Portofino Automatic with date (the 40mm IW356 family, with the 37mm IW458 family for slimmer wrists), the Portofino Chronograph (such as IW391007), the Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days at 45mm with its long power reserve (IW510102), and the Portofino Hand-Wound Moon Phase (IW516401) that in 2017 finally united the eight-day movement with a moon phase as a tribute to the 1984 original. The moon phase remained a recurring signature: IWC later brought it into a 40mm automatic case with the IW459401 and offered a 37mm version (IW459601) using the in-house calibre 32800.
Collectors are drawn to the Portofino for its restrained, timeless looks, its clean dials with slim Roman or stick markers and feuille hands, its accessible entry into the IWC manufacture, and the romance of the original 5251. Today's models are often fitted with supple Santoni alligator straps or a Milanese mesh bracelet, and the 37mm and 40mm sizes make the line genuinely unisex. It is a true dress watch that wears comfortably with both a suit and an open collar.
Bedesten Watches has sold authentic IWC watches in Istanbul since 1999, and the Portofino's blend of elegance and value makes it a recurring favourite among our clients. Whether you are after a modern Portofino Automatic, a moon-phase model, or are hunting the vintage Giant Portofino, visit our Suadiye showroom or message us on WhatsApp +90 532 327 88 26 for current stock and prices on request.