I've always admired the IWC Portuguese Chronograph, a simple and elegant 2 register chrono design with leaf hands, but found myself always shying away from this watch; the A7750 mod seconds at 6:00 in the rep has always been notorious for it's reliability issues, and buying a gen wasn't the highest priority on my to-do list. Not because it wasn't worthy (it most certainly is), but rather because there was always something more... Or maybe less dressy for me to want.
When Concepta starting offering gen movements for IWC's, things got pretty interesting. When Bricciola started modifying rep cases to accept the gen 79350 movement, things became even more interesting. So, after some inquiries, contemplation and some commitment, I went forward with securing my own modified Port Chrono The next few weeks would prove to be an exercise in patience.
Now, usually I like to build my own projects, however the rep case needs to be machined down on a lathe to precision spec in order to facilitate fit of the movement; a task that's beyond my ability or tool set, so Bricciola was asked to handle the handywork. Below are some pics of the process. I have to say, it's a rare day when I'm on this side of project, but the anticipation made this a fun endeavor.
And in my hands... Sorry for the poor pics; rainy day here today. Better pics will be taken on the next sunny day
Still trying to figure out what kind of strap I want to use with this; color, style, texture, etc. Since I usually wear my watches on bracelet, this might take me a while to figure out what combo to go with...
Thanks for looking!
//ubi