IWC’s Most Exclusive And Complicated Mechanical Watch Ever – The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia
The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia is the most exclusive and complicated mechanical watch ever made by IWC. It took the project team at IWC Schaffhausen 10 years to develop and build this spectacular masterpiece. The dial, in the style of a classic Portuguese, features a constant-force tourbillon together with displays for the 96-hour power reserve and sidereal time. This deviates from normal solar time by just under four minutes each day and, among other things, is needed if we wish to find the same star each night in the same position.
The reverse side of the Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia is a fabulous astrolabe calculated precisely to reflect the owner’s wishes. From a previously defined location, the rotating night-sky disc shows more than 500 stars and constellations with such detail and precision that it would quicken the pulse of any astronomer. Making the necessary allowances for summer time and winter time, the watch also displays the times of sunrise and sunset, sidereal time and a perpetual calendar with the leap years. In view of the enormous amount of work involved and the more than 200 individual configurations possible, only a few watches are produced each year.
On the rear side of the watch, the night sky disc reveals the full glory of the star-studded heavens. A location chosen by the customer provides the basis of the calculations for the celestial chart and the astronomical displays. Realistically, it is possible to show around 500 to 1,000 stars. The sky disc rotates in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, depending on whether the chosen geographic location is in the northern or southern hemisphere.
The horizon, identifiable as a yellow ellipse, shows the movements of the stars and the section of the sky currently visible in the real night sky above the chosen coordinates. These coordinates indicate the precise location for which the planisphere has been calculated. The red circle projects the apparent orbit of the Sun in the course of a year on the celestial sphere (ecliptic). The dashed grey circle indicates the celestial equator that separates the northern and southern hemispheres. The red arrow with the dot shows solar time on the outer ring of the 24-hourdisplay while the yellow arrow with the star shows sidereal time, likewise on the inner ring. The two red triangle hands at the edge show the current sunrise and sunset times at the chosen location. The perpetual calendar displays the current date as the number of the day of the year (absolute day). The 1st of January, then, is day 1, the 31st of December day 365, or 366 in a leap year.
As part of its special service, IWC Schaffhausen enables customers to personalize the Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia wristwatch with countless different combinations of features. Taken together, the choice of materials for the case, the five different colours for the dial, the various colours for the appliqués and straps and the material used for the straps, result in over 200 different design options. IWC is only too pleased to honour special requests in the interests of exclusivity.
The case is made of precious metals such as platinum, 18-carat white gold or 18-carat red gold, while the straps are manufactured from the finest alligator leather or equus-hide.
The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia is personally presented to its new owner in a top-qualitywatch case. It contains a removable casket, covered in alligator leather, in which the watch can be safely stored. Integrated into the case is an automatic winder, which was developed especially for this watch with IWC’s engineers. It winds the watch independently once a day via the crown. The large celestial chart on the inside of the watch case lid is, like the watch’s own celestial chart, individually calculated.
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Source: IWC