A fake IW371601 is a replica of the IWC Portugieser Chronograph ref. IW371601: a 41 mm steel case, silver-plated dial, gold-plated hands and appliqués, and a black alligator strap. The genuine watch runs IWC's in-house calibre 69355, a column-wheel chronograph with a 46-hour power reserve. Replicas copy the outside well and the inside poorly, so the dial layout and the movement are where a good copy separates from a bad one. The fastest single check: ref. IW371601 has no date window. If you see a date at 3 o'clock, the watch is wrong.
Genuine IW371601 specs to compare
- Case: 41 mm stainless steel, roughly 13 mm thick, polished and brushed surfaces
- Dial: silver-plated, gold-plated hands and appliqués, subdials at 12 and 6, no date
- Crystal: domed sapphire with antireflective coating on both faces
- Caseback: sapphire display, reference and serial engraved on the rim
- Movement: calibre 69355, automatic, column wheel, 46-hour reserve
- Water resistance: 3 bar
- Strap: black alligator with a steel pin buckle
How to check a fake IW371601, step by step
- Measure the case with calipers. It should read 41 mm across, crown excluded, and close to 13 mm thick. Many replicas run 1 to 2 mm thick because of the movement inside.
- Look for a date window. There should be none. A date at 3 o'clock means the maker used the wrong dial or a different base watch.
- Study the subdials. Chronograph minutes sit at 12 and running seconds at 6. The hands must be level with the dial and reach the track marks.
- Inspect the printing under a loupe. Edges of the IWC wordmark and the small dial text should be sharp, with no ink creep and no gaps in the letterforms.
- Check the appliqués. Gold-plated indices should sit flat, with clean facets and no glue visible at the base.
- Work the pushers and crown. Start, stop and reset should feel crisp with a defined click. A soft or grinding pusher points to a cheap chronograph module.
- Turn the watch over. Through the sapphire back you should see Geneva stripes, blued screws and a column wheel, plus a signed rotor.
- Weigh it. A steel 41 mm chronograph on a strap lands near 90 g. A watch that feels light or hollow is a warning sign.
Dial details that give a replica away
Print quality is the most common failure. Replica dials often show thicker lettering, uneven spacing and a logo that sits a fraction off the centre line. Subdial rings may be printed rather than applied, so the track looks flat under angled light. The silver-plated finish on the genuine dial shifts tone as you tilt it. Painted or sprayed replica dials stay one flat white. Check the hand stack too: genuine hands are faceted and catch light along a clean edge.
Movement checks
The 69355 is a column-wheel design, and the chronograph should start with no stutter of the seconds hand. Many fakes use an Asian 7750 derivative, which adds thickness and shifts the subdial positions. If the watch is thicker than 13.5 mm or the subdials sit closer to the centre than the genuine layout, the movement is not a clone of the 69355. Ask for a photo of the running movement with the chronograph engaged.
Replica grades and what first copy means
- Low grade: printed dial, quartz or basic automatic, wrong case thickness, date window added
- Mid grade: closer case shape, decorated movement cover, dial printing still soft
- First copy grade: correct 41 mm case, applied indices, cloned column-wheel layout, sapphire front and back
Price tracks these tiers. A first copy grade watch costs several hundred dollars, not the fifty-dollar level, and it should come with macro photos of the dial and the movement before you pay.
Before you pay
- Request close-up photos of the dial, caseback engraving and running movement.
- Confirm the case measures 41 mm and has no date.
- Ask which movement is fitted and whether the chronograph is column wheel.
- Check the return policy and the warranty terms in writing.
- Compare the serial on the caseback with the one in the listing photos.
Red flags
- Stock photos only, no images of the actual watch
- Pressure to pay outside a trackable method
- A stated thickness above 14 mm
- Any date function on a ref. IW371601 dial