Signed IWC, Schaffhausen, Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère model, no. 103/150, ref. 5042, movement no. 2’6899’958, case no. 3’186’524, circa 2010

With IWC undated and blank Grande Complication Certificate, undated International Guarantee Card, instruction manuals, original fitted wooden presentation box and outer cardboard packaging.

The present Portuguese Tourbillon Mystère is number 103 of the limited edition of 150 examples. It furthermore appears to be in new old stock condition.

The tourbillon – or, as it literally translates, the “whirlwind” – has long been considered the ultimate achievement in mechanical watchmaking. Originally, this most exclusive of all watch complications was intended to offset the gravitational error inevitable in an oscillating system with a balance and spring by distributing the error evenly over a single plane. The solution: to put the balance, pallets and escape wheel in a tiny cage that would then rotate around its own axis once every minute. The construction of this mechanism represents an enormous challenge, and results in a filigree work of art consisting of 82 parts. In the Portugieser Tourbillon Mystère, the tourbillon at “12 o’clock” appears to come alive and is the focal point of the entire dial.