It’s fair to say that IWC has done more than most brands to further ceramic usage in watches, pioneering the first serially produced ceramic wristwatch case in 1986 and working to innovate the material ever since. And then, after five years of R&D, the Swiss watchmaker debuted its Ceratanium, a groundbreaking alloy that combines titanium’s lightness and toughness with ceramic’s scratch resistance and matte appearance.
Favored in the brand’s Top Gun series, Ceratanium has not gotten much play outside of the pilot’s watch category, at all. That all changes with the most unlikely pairing of the hybrid material with its iconic dress watch, the Portugieser.
A History with Cutting-Edge Materials
Before getting into the watch itself, Ceratanium deserves a proper introduction. IWC didn’t stumble into advanced materials overnight. The brand put titanium on the map in 1980 with the Porsche Design Titan Chronograph, the first titanium-cased Swiss watch. Six years later, they followed with the world’s first ceramic wristwatch case on the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar. Ceratanium, which debuted in 2017 on a limited Aquatimer, is the logical synthesis of those two pioneering efforts: a titanium alloy fired at kiln temperatures until its surface achieves ceramic-like hardness. The result is roughly 40% lighter than steel with scratch resistance that puts standard titanium to shame.
Until now, IWC kept it squarely in tactical territory. The Portugieser is a completely different animal.
The Portugieser You Didn’t See Coming
The Portugieser Chronograph has been largely unchanged since 1998, and that’s actually a compliment. Its twin vertically stacked subdials, wide angled bezel, and domed sapphire crystal have stayed put ever since. IWC upgraded the movement in 2020 with the in-house Caliber 69355, swapping out the old Valjoux base for a proper manufacture column-wheel automatic, but the silhouette remained untouched.
The Caliber 69355 movement is in place here as well, behind an exhibition caseback. What it does do is strip away every last bit of warm metallic aesthetic. The case, crown, pushers, and buckle are all Ceratanium. The dial is matte black, the hands are black, the applied Arabic numerals and indices are black. Even the sapphire caseback gets a smoky tint. The only relief from the monochrome comes from the polished finish on the hands and markers. Legibility takes a hit, no question, but the tradeoff is a Portugieser that looks unlike anything the line has produced before, and could signal promising releases in the future. The sportier aesthetic is complemented by a squarish-patterned black rubber strap affixed to the timepiece.
Spec Sheet
Model: IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium
Case Material: Ceratanium
Case Diameter: 41mm
Case Thickness: 13.1mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.9mm
Crystal: Convex sapphire, anti-reflective coating both sides; tinted sapphire display caseback
Movement: IWC Calibre 69355 automatic column-wheel chronograph
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap: Black textured rubber with Ceratanium pin buckle
Edition: Limited to 1,500 pieces
Pricing & Availability
The IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium is available now, limited to 1,500 pieces globally and priced at $14,600.
Recap
IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium
IWC took its classic Portugieser Chronograph (a dress watch that’s barely changed since 1998) and flipped the script by housing it in Ceratanium, the brand’s proprietary ceramic-titanium hybrid that’s mostly lived in Top Gun territory until now. The result is a fully blacked-out, 1,500-piece limited edition that trades some legibility for a lot of attitude.
