In Response To: See the following (cellar)
Hi cellar and Franco,
In addition to the article that cellar provided the link, I thought it might be helpful to add a little more.
The Portugiesers used either the Cal. 74 or Cal. 98, which were IWC's thin pocketwatch movements of the era. IWc reports that 304 Cal. 74 Portugiesers were produced between 1938 and 1952; I don't have the count on the Cal. 98s but there was some overlap in production dates (98s started in the early '40s). I was told by someone in Schaffhausen that around 600 total were produced, but I'd guess it was slightly higher, at least because I've seen more Cal. 98 Portugiesers.
There are many dial variations, as depicted, and some crown variations. There seems to be the same basic cases but I've seen two categories of lugs and some with display backs (which I couldn't tell if they were retrofitted). Also, there was a gold re-edition in the early 70s (guessing on the date) with Louis XIV style hands.
I would add that the model was not in my opinion important to IWC historically. Few were made, unlike the early JLC Reversos, and it really was a footnote to history until IWC resurrected it in 1993 with the Jubilee, which really was in celebration of IWC's great pocketwatch tradition.
In all events, I would caution any buyer, considering prices, to be careful of conversions. There are many IWC pocketwatches which have been converted, not by IWC, to wristwatches. All that is required is the addition of lugs, usually by subsituting a case frame (middle), and the numbers, etc., would be correct even on the case back. While authenticity is always a challenge, I would suggest at the very least looking for the following characteristics:
1. Cal. 74 or 98 only (I think the gold Louis XIV one may have used a Cal. 982)
2. Full markings, including on case back --perhaps showing that it is a ref. 325
3. The movement should date from the period (many Cal. 74s especially would be too early)
4. The case frame should look like those depicted, with the characteristic thin bezel, and size should be 42mm --no 44mm, no 40mm's, etc..
Regards,
Michael