However, the hand-wound movement does allow for a greater power reserve. In other words, things can go backwards or sideways just as easily as forwards. This is particularly true in the world of replica watches, where the latest object of desire is just as likely to be the reiteration of an old classic (with a twist – naturally) as a technological leap forward.
Most of us like to think that progress is linear. Experience, nevertheless, teaches us that, like crowds of people rushing through an airport. Take IWC’s Portofino Hand-Wound Mono-pusher.It is rather more like Brownian motion – the random movement of particles suspended in a fluid.
And, personally, I find the very action of winding a watch rather soothing, which more than beats the stress of missing your train when you – very occasionally – forget to do so. This may be the first time that replica IWC has presented a single-button chronograph but, traditionally, single pushers were used on pocket replica watches to start, stop and reset. A hand-wound movement is now also a rarity, thanks to the convenience of self-winding – ie, automatic – versions.
Unlike its predecessors, nevertheless, when it comes to its chronograph function, the new Portofino Mono-pusher is the very model of discretion, with the pusher integrated into the crown with merely the most modest of protrusions signaling its presence.
It performed these functions admirably, but was to be overtaken by its double-pusher parvenus thanks to a simple weakness – with merely one button you couldn’t pause your timings. In spite of the discretion, this is no shrinking violet, with a case that measures a substantial 45mm – the size allows it to boast an eight-day power reserve.
