How is the craftsmanship of the APS Factory IWC new Portugieser 7-day power reserve? Is it worth buying?

The IWC Portugieser model is produced by APS Factory with an 18K thick gold-plated case, standard case diameter and high-precision automatic Super Clone movement architecture. It is among the most successful 1:1 super clone watch reviews on the market, with its sapphire crystal AR coating glass, original case tolerances and detailed workmanship.

Dial and Hand Details

This is it, the most classic white dial with blue hour and minute hands color option. The most eye-catching one among the colors released this time is this ice blue dial; It is already one of the new colors and I think this is the option that the official side particularly highlights. There is also gold, rose gold black dial, white dial gold hour and minute hands and that classic blue. However, let me tell you the differences between the old model and the new model based on the most popular color.

First of all, if we look at it in terms of design, the old and new models are actually very similar to each other; It looks like it's the same everywhere, but when you look carefully, it looks like it's different everywhere. First, let's talk about the glass: did you notice that the glass of the old model was a very ordinary glass, an ordinary sapphire glass. In the new model, domed sapphire glass is used, giving that vintage atmosphere. This look gives you a very nostalgic feeling. The dial layout is generally the same; that is, the two eye arrangements on the left and right, one of which is the winding indicator. When you look carefully, the striped scale that used to be located where the second hand is on the right has now become much simpler, and these relief hour markers are used directly. The red color has been removed from the 7-day power reserve indicator on the right; So it looks simpler as a whole, there is no glaring red there. In other words, everyone's aesthetic understanding is constantly evolving; When a new model comes out, you may suddenly find it more beautiful than the old one.

The placement of the date window at position 6 does not change. The only thing that has changed is that the English letters on it have been pulled up a little; Thus, a more symmetrical image is created from top to bottom. So there is not only right-left symmetry, but also top-bottom symmetry. And as for the most classic color combination, the color of this dial is almost the same as the previous one, but it seems to be a little whiter than the previous one.

Case and Body Workmanship

The hands are blue steel hour and minute hands, also annealed in this fire; It's also quite bright. The center shaft is a solid center shaft, polished and machined. There is another opening in the small display at position 6, which is in the shape of a double trapezoid. In general, there is no big change, but the appearance has become simpler.

Did you notice a very ingenious point in the case form on the side? According to official data, that is, APS's data, the new model is 1 mm thinner than the old model. So, did you notice where this thinning occurred? Let's take a look at the structure of the case back: In the past, the case back of the old model was a screw-on back cover, that is, it was tightened by turning it directly. Now there are four screws on the back of the case and it is fixed with screws. With this method, the thickness of the case back is reduced. The thickness of the old model was about 1 mm more; Therefore, in the new model, the thickness has decreased from the old 14.1 to 13, and it looks a little thinner. The main reason for this is that the back cover has been thinned.

Movement and Caliber Performance

On the mechanism side, there is actually no big change. We are talking about replica watches; APS's mechanism is actually the same as ZF's mechanism, both of which are produced with modifications on Dandong's SL600 mechanism. So there is no change in appearance. The only change is perhaps the balance bridge here: in the past, this place was empty, but in the new model, the bridge has been extended directly to this side and is connected to each other. But the bridge we see, including the main bridge of the mechanism, is actually a decorative bridge. Because everyone is very, very familiar with this mechanism; Previously, ZF's mechanism was actually exactly the same as this one, only minor changes were made to the bridge; The essence of the movement is always SL600. As for ZF's movement, leaving aside issues such as whether it is a bridge type or a single piece, it is still quite good in terms of the stability of the movement alone; It almost never breaks. If we are to talk about a failure rate in ZF's mechanism, it is definitely a problem; But this is ZF's problem, not the movement factory's problem. Because the fixing screw that ZF used when purchasing and assembling this mechanism, that is, the screw that fixes the entire mechanism to the case, is a bit weak in terms of durability; Therefore, the screw can come out of its place and fall into the mechanism, jamming and stopping the mechanism. The solution is extremely simple: just open the back cover, remove this screw and reinsert it into the hole of the fixing screw, the problem is solved. This is not a malfunction, this is ZF's issue. This time APS paid attention to this problem; I talked to him and he said that this screw problem will probably not occur like in ZF. He also improved the movement and increased the power reserve. The ZF's power reserve was approximately three days; APS says this can go up to 70-odd hours. Of course, there is still a big difference with the official 7-day power reserve; This is a situation that cannot be changed as of now.

Strap, Buckle and Comfort

As for the buckle, it is exactly the same as the buckle of the previous old Portugieser 7, and exactly the same as ZF's; There's not much to say, that's the main difference. There is not much to tell about other subjects. Apart from the most classic color combination, there seems to be no color difference. These colors, more or less, dark or light, all have a little bit of color variation; This is inevitable. But in terms of appearance, it looks really nice. However, these flashier, more eye-catching colors are colors that, by their nature, do not sell very well; Because where are you going to use this on a daily basis as a watch that you can wear to work? He is very picky about clothes and combinations, so naturally there are very few people who choose him. If you are bored of those ordinary colors, you can play a little with this ice blue; Looks really not bad. Also, this ice blue strap is the most special one; It has more of a handmade feel.

I hope this article was useful to you. We will share more detailed disassembly, real shot review and real-replica comparison in the future.