Iwc Portugieser 69355: what to check on a used piece

Iwc Portugieser 69355 is the reference in this note. Use daylight if you can. Artificial light hides the difference between a faded insert and a replaced one. Hold the watch at arm length and then at reading distance. The dial should stay legible, and the hands should not disappear into the markers. On a used piece the bracelet stretches, the clasp thins at the fold, and the case back collects arcs from a desk. Those three marks are ordinary. What is not ordinary is a dial that looks new beside a bracelet that is deeply worn, or a bezel insert that is glossy beside a case that is dull. Mismatched wear means a part was swapped. Name the newer part. Then measure. Width across the bezel, lug to lug, and the space between the lugs where the strap sits. Three numbers locate the watch on a wrist better than a nickname does. Keep the nickname in your head if you like. Put the numbers and the engraving in the note.

How it differs

Iwc Portugieser 69355 is a pilot layout: a readable dial, a long lug, and usually a large crown. Check that the crown clears the back of the hand when the watch is worn, and that the lug length is what you measured, not what a listing claimed. People change straps on pilot cases often. The lug width has to match the strap. Write the width in millimeters.

What to check on a used piece

What to check on a used Iwc Portugieser 69355 starts with the engraving. The reference to read is 69355. Then check end-link play, clasp fold, and whether the hands pass each other. There is no price in this note.

Common mods

Common changes are a new strap, a larger or smaller crown that was fitted during a repair, and a crystal. The lug width decides which strap belongs. Measure it instead of trusting the holes already punched.

What people change

On the Iwc Portugieser 69355, people change the bracelet, the case, or the movement.