What IW371418 Is

IW371418 is an IWC reference number. It sits inside the Portugieser Chronograph line, the two-register chronograph IWC has built since 1998. The 3714 family uses a 40.9 mm case and a dial with applied Arabic numerals, feuille hands, small seconds at 6 o'clock, and a 30-minute counter at 12 o'clock. The dial carries no date window.

I do not have a verified production record for the exact suffix 418. IWC used suffixes to mark dial and case metal combinations. Treat 418 as a variant inside the 3714 family, not a separate model.

Genuine Spec Points to Check

  • Case diameter: 40.9 mm. Thickness: about 12.3 mm.
  • Movement on pre-2020 3714 references: calibre 79350, a Valjoux 7750 base modified by IWC. Power reserve about 44 hours.
  • Sapphire crystal front and back. The display back shows the rotor and bridges.
  • Subdials at 12 and 6. No date. A date window at 3 is the wrong layout.

Tells on a Counterfeit IW371418

Replica IW3714 case sets come from a small number of factories. Most use a 40 mm or 41 mm case, not 40.9 mm. That difference shows on a caliper, not in a photo.

  • Date window at 3 o'clock. Genuine 3714 dials have none.
  • Subdial spacing. Fakes crowd the two registers toward the center.
  • Printing. Genuine "IWC" and "SCHAFFHAUSEN" text sits sharp at low magnification.
  • Movement. A stock 7750 or a clone shows unfinished bridges, a wrong jewel count, and a rotor with no correct engraving.
  • Hands. Genuine feuille hands are blued or rhodium finished on both faces. Fakes show flat polish and uneven bevels.
  • Caseback engraving. Depth and font weight vary on fakes. Reference, serial, and case number lines misalign.

Price Signals

Genuine steel IW3714 examples trade in the low to mid four figures on the secondary market. Gold examples run higher. Replica sellers list first copy IW371418 pieces in the low hundreds. A listing far below the genuine range points to a replica or a stolen watch. Prices move. Check a current sales database before you pay.

Verification Steps

  1. Measure the case with a caliper. 40.9 mm, not 40 or 41.
  2. Ask for movement photos through the display back at 5x magnification.
  3. Compare the caseback serial against IWC service records. IWC can confirm a reference number against a serial.
  4. Have a watchmaker open the case and read the movement number.

Limits

High-grade replicas copy dial print and case finish well. Photos alone do not settle the question. A hands-on inspection by a watchmaker does. No online check is final.