IWC Introduces the Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse
IWC has unveiled the Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse, a 500-piece limited edition featuring a horse-shaped rotor visible through the caseback.
IWC Schaffhausen has introduced the Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse (Ref. IW501709), a limited edition of 500 pieces created to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Horse in 2026.
The watch features a 42mm stainless steel case, a burgundy dial with gold-coloured hands and numerals, and the IWC-manufactured 52011 calibre with a seven-day power reserve. Through the sapphire caseback, a gold-plated rotor shaped like a galloping horse is visible. The watch is delivered with both black and burgundy alligator leather straps.
What We Noticed
What stays with us is that the horse is not on the dial, but on the movement.
Turn the watch over, and a gold-plated horse appears beneath the sapphire caseback, captured mid-gallop as part of the rotor. From the front, the burgundy dial and gold details carry the Lunar New Year theme. The horse reveals itself only when the watch is viewed from the back.
