The replica IW371418 is a counterfeit of the IWC Portugieser Chronograph, a 40.9 mm stainless steel chronograph that has been in the catalog in one dial variation or another since 1998. The reference number itself only pins down a specific dial, hand, and strap combination inside the Ref. 3714 family. What sellers call a “first copy” is not a grade defined by IWC or by any standards body. It is shop language for the top of a seller's own price ladder. So the honest answer to how good a replica IW371418 is: it depends entirely on which workshop built it, and the reference number alone tells you almost nothing.

What the real watch is working with

Before you judge any copy, you need the baseline. The Portugieser Chronograph has a fairly specific set of physical facts, and those facts are what a replica has to fake.

  • Case: 40.9 mm stainless steel, about 12.3 mm thick, with curved lugs that sit close to the wrist.
  • Movement: IWC calibre 79350, a heavily reworked Valjoux 7750 with the chronograph layout rearranged.
  • Dial: two sub-dials, elapsed minutes at 12 and running seconds at 6, date at 3, applied Arabic numerals, feuille hands.
  • Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective treatment.
  • Strap: alligator leather on a folding deployant clasp for most references.

What “first copy” tends to mean for this model

The sub-dial layout is the whole problem. A stock 7750 puts its counters at 12, 9, and 6. The IWC version drops the 12 hour counter and moves running seconds to 6, leaving a clean two-register face. Reproducing that means real modification work, and it is where the tiers split.

  • Cheap quartz versions get the look right in photos and nothing else. The chrono hands sweep in steps, not smoothly.
  • Entry automatics often use a hand wound chrono with the sub-dials in the wrong place, so the face reads wrong the moment you know the model.
  • The top tier uses a modified 7750 clone with the counters correctly positioned. That is the version sellers mean by first copy, and it is the only one worth comparing to anything.

Where replicas give themselves away

I look at thickness first, because it is the hardest thing to hide. Most copies run 13.5 mm to 14.5 mm against the genuine 12.3 mm, and that extra millimetre changes how the watch sits.

  • Sub-dial spacing and the size of the date window frame.
  • Printing weight and letter spacing on “IWC,” “Schaffhausen,” and the chronograph text.
  • Crown and pusher shape, thread feel, and sideways wobble.
  • Caseback engraving depth, and whether the reference stamping looks machined or stamped.
  • Strap material, usually embossed cowhide standing in for alligator, plus a clasp that rattles.

If you are looking at one, check these in order

  1. Measure the case thickness with calipers before anything else.
  2. Ask which movement is inside and whether the counters are at 12 and 6.
  3. Look at the sub-dial spacing under magnification.
  4. Start and reset the chronograph a few times and watch the hands snap back to zero.
  5. Open and close the clasp several times and feel for play.

Practical and legal realities

Counterfeit goods carrying a registered trademark can be seized and destroyed by US Customs, and importation is barred under 19 U.S.C. 1526. Selling them is trademark infringement and can be charged criminally under 18 U.S.C. 2320. That is not a scare tactic, it is the actual rule set.

The practical side matters too. There is no manufacturer warranty, no service from IWC, and no parts supply once the movement wears. Resale value is effectively zero, while a genuine 3714 holds meaningful value a decade later. Water resistance is usually a printed claim rather than a tested one, so keep any copy away from water regardless of what the listing says.

Bottom line

A good replica IW371418 can look convincing on a wrist at arm's length. It cannot be serviced by the people who made the original, it will not hold value, and it can be taken off you at the border. If the appeal is purely the look for a low price and you accept all of that, you at least know what you are buying. If any part of the appeal is owning a Portugieser, the copy will not deliver it.