Schaffhausen, July 22, 2015-‘Hold your son and grow old with your son.’ A line of poetry expresses the love and time of the world. Love can only be proved by time, and the watch that bears the years is the best testimony of unwavering love. Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has created a charming pair of watch series in its Portofino collection full of Italian elegance, in celebration of the Chinese New Year. The Portofino automatic watch and the slightly smaller Portofino Automatic 37 are perfectly combined to elegantly interpret the harmonious charm of the love between the lovers. Eight pairs of watch combinations are available for you to choose, and they can also be used as love tokens on the wrist to show the world that you and your lover belong to each other. Whether simple or luxurious with diamond-studded styles, Portofino’s timeless beauty of the watch series conveys the strong love of the spouse wishing to live forever and shape the future together.

Zhou Xun wears IWC Portofino automatic watch 37 at the 2015 ‘ONE NIGHT’ Charity Dinner for Autistic Children, held in Hangzhou on the evening of July 15th
   The Portofino Automatic 37 (model: 4581) and the Portofino Automatic (model: 3565), two unique watches are perfectly paired, with a simple design language that promises eternity. ‘The extraordinary, yet low-key, restrained appearance has been the secret to the success of IWC’s Portofino collection for many years. Its timeless beauty is superior to all unpredictable fashion trends.’ Georges Kern, CEO of IWC ) Said, ‘As the name of the collection shows, the Portofino watch series embodies the relaxed and relaxed lifestyle of the Mediterranean. The beautiful Portofino wrist watch series hold the same values ​​and have the same elegant taste. Companions show their love tokens. ‘The Portofino watch series includes six red gold and two stainless steel watch pairs. Put on the bezel or dial with diamonds, the partners can not only share the good things in life, but also add a touch of luxury to expressing love and commitment between each other. The shiny mirror-polished case highlights the wearer’s extraordinary noble temperament, while the radial sunburst on the dial brings charming light and shadow effects. The understated, recessed inner ring is a major feature of the 37mm model, making the dial more vivid and three-dimensional. The crocodile leather strap created by the famous Italian top shoe manufacturer Santoni is delicately colored, adding to the luxury look of the watch.

Mr. Zhou Xun and Gao Shengyuan appeared at the 2015 ‘ONE NIGHT’ Charity Dinner for Autistic Children in Hangzhou on the evening of July 15th. Zhou Xun wore IWC Portofino Automatic 37
Similar style and unique temperament

   All Portofino watches have a classic and elegant design, with a clear three-hand dial design and a low-key and restrained date display. At the same time, each watch reflects its own unique temperament. The Portofino Automatic 37 with a case diameter of 37 mm is particularly suitable for thinner wrists, while the Portofino Automatic with a case diameter of 40 mm has a more atmospheric appearance. Both models are equipped with a sturdy, self-winding mechanical movement that travels accurately and reliably, ensuring a 42-hour power reserve when fully wound. In addition to the hours, minutes and seconds, the Portofino watch series also has a date that can be set quickly. The central seconds hand can be stopped by pulling out the crown, and the double-sided anti-reflective sapphire glass ensures that the watch is always legible at any angle. As a witness of the concentric lovers with different personalities, Portofino watch series contains many models for you to choose. The Portofino Automatic 37 or the bezel is set with 66 brilliant diamonds, or the dial is set with 12 diamonds in a simple and low-key manner, all emitting a dazzling light. Two red gold Portofino automatic watches also feature diamond-set bezels. All red gold models are available with a rock grey dial or a silver plated dial with gold-plated hands and indexes. The 37 mm stainless steel case with a rock grey dial, and the Portofino automatic 40 mm case stand out with a black dial with rhodium-plated hands and graduations.

Mr. Zhou Xun and Gao Shengyuan appeared at the 2015 ‘ONE NIGHT’ Charity Dinner for Autistic Children in Hangzhou on the evening of July 15th. Zhou Xun wore IWC Portofino Automatic 37

Portofino watch series
   Thirty years after its birth, the Portofino watch family has always played an important role in IWC. The former fishing village of Portofino, located near the Italian harbour city of Genoa, is now a symbol of elegant living and international luxury. To this day, the rich and famous of all countries still like to gather in Portofino to enjoy the beautiful and relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere. The classic and elegant Portofino watch series precisely reflects this laid-back lifestyle. Today, Santoni, a well-known Italian shoe manufacturer headed by Giuseppe Santoni, the second generation of the family, exclusively creates the highest quality leather straps for IWC watches. Decorated with the Portofino Automatic 37 and two Portofino Automatics with diamonds on the bezel. In the complicated processing procedures, each of the carefully-made Santoni straps is given a unique retro look at the factory, and the colors and gloss are also unique. This process makes leather seem like it has been carefully used for many years, but it is actually made entirely new. Another feature of the Santoni strap at a glance is the orange leather lining on the inside of the strap. The beauty and glamour of the Mediterranean life atmosphere are blended into the perfect craftsmanship of watches and straps.

Portofino Watches Portofino Automatic 37 / Portofino Automatic
Technical characteristics: mechanical movement, date display, central seconds hand with stop device
Movement
Movement Model 4581: 35111 Model 3565: 35111
Vibration frequency: 28,800 times per hour / 4 Hz
25 jewels
Power reserve 42 hours
Automatic winding

Watch
Pair Table No.1
Reference 4581 (37mm): stainless steel case with 66 diamonds, rock grey dial, black Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): stainless steel case, black dial, black alligator strap, pin buckle

To Table No. 2
Reference 4581 (37mm): stainless steel case, rock grey dial set with 12 diamonds, black alligator leather strap by Santoni, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): stainless steel case, black dial, black alligator strap, pin buckle
To Table No. 3
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case, silver-plated dial set with 12 diamonds, dark brown alligator leather strap by Santoni, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case, silver-plated dial, dark brown alligator strap, pin buckle
To Table No. 4
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case with 66 diamonds, silver-plated dial, dark brown alligator leather strap by Santoni, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case, silver-plated dial, dark brown alligator strap, pin buckle
Pair Table No. 5
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case with 66 diamonds, silver-plated dial, black Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case with 72 diamonds, silver-plated dial, black Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
To Table No. 6
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case, rock grey dial with 12 diamonds, dark brown alligator leather strap by Santoni, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case, rock grey dial, dark brown alligator strap, pin buckle
Pair Table No. 7
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case with 66 diamonds, rock grey dial, dark brown Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case, rock grey dial, dark brown alligator strap, pin buckle
Pair Table No. 8
Reference 4581 (37mm): 18K red gold case with 66 diamonds, rock grey dial, dark brown Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
Reference 3565 (40 mm): 18K red gold case with 72 diamonds, rock grey dial, dark brown Santoni alligator strap, pin buckle
Table mirror: double-sided anti-reflective convex sapphire glass
Water resistance: 3 bar
Diameter: Model 4581: 37 mm, Model 3565: 40 mm
Case thickness: Model 4581: 9 mm, Model 3565: 9.5 mm

Read More »

Time passed, and Bai Ku passed the gap. Just because time has passed, this lingering and sighing is sent to the timepiece, and the famous watches combining mechanical craftsmanship and various arts have therefore become the object of collectors’ obsession. According to the recently released ‘World Watch Report’, China has surpassed the United States for the first time as the country showing the greatest demand for luxury watches.

    This month, Christie’s, China Guardian, Beijing Poly and other auction ‘predators’ will successively hold special watch auctions, focusing on the attention of players across the country. But do all watches have collectible value? How high is the threshold for collecting watches?
Top 5 watches of China Guardian
    Watches that used to only have the function of seeing time have already become works of art with the advancement of technology. In addition to the very delicate design, such as the combination of micro-painted enamel or moving puppets, the performance of the watch is also very complicated, which can include three questions, tourbillon, perpetual calendar and so on. With the watch collectors in recent years, some mainstream brands of watches with scarce production have gradually highlighted their potential for value preservation and appreciation, and some collectors have regarded them as investment products.

Mainland market
Most buyers are still in the ‘enlightenment’ stage
    Hong Kong was the earliest market to drive the collection of Chinese luxury watch auctions. Li Dianxin, vice president and senior expert of the Christie’s watch department in Hong Kong, said that since 1990, watches and clocks have gradually become one of the world’s major collections. In the past ten years, the Asian watch market has developed vigorously and has become almost the world’s most important market. Among them, Chinese buyers have played a positive role.
    High-profile brands such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Rolex are the most sought after by Chinese buyers. According to statistics, among all the famous watches that have appeared in well-known auction houses in the past two years, from the perspective of models, antique watches account for 70%, modern watches account for 30%; from a functional point of view, complex function watches account for 80%, simple Mechanical watches account for 20%; from the brand perspective, Patek Philippe accounts for 50%, other top brands account for 30%; rare when representative models account for 10%, jewelry brands account for 10%.
    According to Li Dianxin, in addition to these big brands, in recent years, more and more buyers like to collect independent and innovative brands, especially limited edition models of these brands, such as Christophe Claret, Maitres du Temps, HD3 and other independent watchmakers masterpiece Sought after. In addition, for Asian collectors and the Chinese market, exquisite enamel pocket watches made 100 to 200 years ago are also very popular.
    Of course, some watches have the conditions for continued appreciation, while others do not. ‘Those antique watches that have been discontinued have this kind of advantage.’ Huang Minghui, general manager of China Guardian Jewelry Department, introduced that this antique watch refers to most of the old pocket watches. During the 18th to 19th centuries, it was the period when pocket watches prevailed. In the early 20th century, pocket watches began to be replaced by watches. It can be said that the history of watches is only about 100 years. Among them, the watches that have reached the antique level are only ‘age’ of three or fifty years. ‘The future trend will be antique watches with artistic appreciation, and top brands with complex functions, to become the final winner in collections and auctions.’ Mr Dong, who has been collecting watches for many years, predicted so.

    Mr. Dong revealed his collection experience: ‘Limited edition watches will have higher collection value because of their unique global numbers. Players can pay attention to the most classic and least number of varieties in a brand. Generally speaking, the more functional Complete and complex watches, because of their more sophisticated workmanship, more technical difficulties, and their value. ‘
    However, the mainland watch collection market has just risen shortly and is not yet complete. ‘It can be said that the current watch collection system in the Mainland has not yet been established.’ Huang Minghui believes that most buyers are in the enlightenment stage of the watch collection, and most of them buy basic mechanical watches. , And did not know how to comprehensively evaluate the collection value of watches from added value such as corporate brand and culture.
    According to reports, China Guardian has started auctioning famous watches since the 2010 auction, and so far the spring auction is only the fourth time. From the previous three times, the understanding of the watch on the market has improved, the buyer’s market is expanding, and the influence of the watch auction has also increased. However, the current famous watches have not yet formed a collection market. According to Huang Minghui’s observation, at least 70% to 80% of the buyers who buy watches at the China Guardian auction are users but not collectors.

Collection threshold
100,000 watches are far from collectible
    So, how high is the threshold for watch collection? Huang Minghui said that even at the auction, there are not many watches that really reach the collection level. ‘Watches that can reach the collection level, one is a brand watch, and the other is a limited production model of a brand name watch, while contemporary collection-level watches are mainly Patek Philippe watches and pocket watches, and the remaining collection-level watches are mainly antique watches. It is an antique watch with good condition, good condition, and good craftsmanship. ‘For a market view, watches with a value of more than 100,000 yuan have collectible value, and he admits that watches with a price of 100,000 yuan are too ordinary, far from reaching the collection level.’ General For example, a watch that can be called a collectible watch is at least a complicated function table, for example, it has tourbillon, perpetual calendar, three questions and other advanced functions. And watches with these functions have a price of at least 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. ‘Therefore, 40 ~ 500,000 yuan is the basic price of collectible watches.
Collection risk
Monetization of niche collections is not easy
    Can ordinary players just wait for the appreciation after buying a watch? Huang Minghui doesn’t think so: ‘All watches are consumables, and the value-preserving value comes from the proper maintenance of the owner.’ He gave an example, just like a car, if properly maintained, it is better to sell it after 10 years than nothing The same car that is maintained is more expensive and more likely to sell. The watch needs to be maintained at least once every three to five years, so that it can maintain the accuracy of its travel time and reduce the loss rate of the movement. ‘Even a collectible watch is the same. Don’t think that the watch you bought now costs 1 million yuan. It will definitely rise to 2 million yuan in 20 years.’
    Li Dianxin suggested that collectors must choose their favorite brands and styles when buying watches, and then pay attention to its production and whether it is well maintained. Buyers who are new to the market, if they do not have sufficient funds, start with a certain type of brand watch and buy top-quality watches within the range allowed by economic strength. For old and new collectors, Christie’s preview is a great place to learn about various exquisite watches. Buyers can look at the preview before shooting, communicate with experts, get professional opinions from experts, and make better comparisons. , From which you can learn the positioning and price of your collection in the market.

Read More »