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Gen VS Rep: IWC Portofino rosegold MKF V5

gdhg

Known Member
16/6/18
128
8
18
As there has not been a comparison/review of the MKF IWC Portofino lately, I figured, I should give it a go. I will be comparing my genuine Portofino Automatic (Reference Number IW356504) Rosegold to the current MK Factory “V5” Portofino, with Miyota9015.

As with pretty much all reps on leather strap, the leather strap is not very good. I swapped it to a real lizard strap I had lying around, which coincidentally also fitted the IWC tang buckle. The Gen comes on a real crocodile strap, made by Santoni.
Please bear in mind, throughout my comparison; I will focus only on the obvious differences. There might be some small differences, which I didn’t pick up, because I most likely didn’t even notice them. But please feel free to post them below, if you notice something ;) In the pics, I've labeled the replica with "R" and the Gen with "G". Let’s start with the face of the watch:

The Dial, Hands and Crystal

To my untrained eyes (I’m not very good at nitpicking), the dials are 98% the same. All writing and spacing seems identical, also the applied indices are spot on. The reflection and how they play with the light is identical to gen. However, I noticed 2 minor things. The minute ticks, which are printed on, do appear to be vaguely thinner on the rep. Maybe my eyes are just deceiving me, but after staring at it for a while, you kinda see it.
The second thing, which is only obvious in close up shots (and NOT at wrist distance), is, that the date window on the gen is finished more refined. The “ledge” from the dial to the datewindow is deeper on the rep, which can be rather obvious though.
I give the dial 9 / 10

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The Hands have gotten a lot better. They used to be flat 2D, they mimicked the 3D effect of the gen hands rather well, the reflections of the rep hands are very good and close to gen. However, the shape is ever so slightly off. The tip of both the minute and hour hand on the rep should be thinner!
I give the Hands 8,5 / 10

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The Datewheel is good. First I thought it was too boldly printed, but a member pointed out that there are both thin and fat date fonts on the Gen. in my eyes the biggest tell visually. The size of the printing is good as well. The printing is all very consistent on the rep, everything is centered very well and there aren’t any funky mistakes. There was only one number that was a bit right justed, which isn't bad when all other 30 dates are fine.

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I give the Datewheel 9,5 / 10

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The crystal has some AR coating on it, I’m guessing on both sides. It has a blue hue in it, which is absolutely identical to gen. Gen is no better. Crystal has the same slight dome as the gen. But one can achieve some amazing shots using the blue hue in the AR. ☺
I give the xtal 10 / 10

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Now on the externals

The case is, from what I can see, spot on in terms of shape and size. Now a big HOWEVER:
Even though both watches should be “rosegold”, the rep is a lot more pink-ish than the gen. This is not really noticeable on the wrist and I only noticed it, when both watches lay next to each other. The gen actually appears yellow gold when sitting next to the rep, but that’s only because the rep is more pink-ish. This is very noticeable when comparing it to a genuine example, but not that noticeable on the wrist. Obviously the weight is off, by how much I cannot tell, because I sadly don’t have scales. As this is to be expected with a plated Replica, it would be harsh to deduct too many points for that.
I therefore give the case 7 / 10

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The caseback gets an individual rating, as I consider the beautiful engraving to be the watch’s specialty, or“party trick” if you will. Taking it off and handing it to people to admire the engraving is great to watch every time. The size, spacing and font of the stampings engravings are all correct. However, the depth of the engraving is not correct. Everything (writing, stamping etc.) is a little deeper on the gen. It’s extremely noticeable when you run your finger over it or a lot of light hits it. I’m not gonna deduct points for the difference in colour again, as that was covered with the case.
I give the caseback 8 / 10

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The movement in the gen is called the IWC caliber 35111, it basically is the Sellita SW300-1, which in turn is a direct copy of the ETA2892, offering 42 hours power reserve and 25 jewels. In the MKF we get the Miyota 9015, offering 42 hours power reserve and 24 jewels. I know there are a lot of people who have mixed feelings about the 9015, I am one of them. It’s a rather reliable movement and is easy to repair/swap (a new movement costs only like 70 Euros on ebay) if problems occur, but there is two things I really don’t like about it:
1. The loud rotor, as the movement only winds in one direction and the rotor can spin freely in the other, making it sound like shaking a tin can filled with nails. There’s an easy fix that can get the rotor almost dead silent, which even less talented people like myself can execute: Drop a tiny drop of oil (I used Moebius D5) into the rotor bearing. Be very careful not to put too much in. If you think you have put too much in, you will have done so.
2. The slow date change, which starts at 22:30 (roughly) and goes on till around midnight. It just looks really cheap when you can only see half the date for over an hour. I don’t know if some wheels can be changed to make it flip over at midnight, like the A2824 (which was previously used in the MKF Portofino) did.

I really do not know why they changed from the A2892 to the Miyota 9015. It’s probably to reduce costs. Eliminating the datewheel-flaw would have been extremely easy by just fitting a gen datewheel onto the Asian clone, if it turned out to be a true clone.
The movement gets a 7/10

I didn’t expect the strap to be great and it isn’t. I won’t be too harsh on it therefore. It’s just a typical calfskin leather strap with croc printing on it. Nothing special really. If you know the texture of a gen Santoni strap, you’ll spot the rep instantly. Swap it out to a high-quality leather, maybe even real crocodile or a Santoni, if you want.
The tang buckle is, by me at least, considered part of the strap. The shape is spot on, the engraving on the front is good, and dare I say spot on as well? However, on the inside/back of the buckle, the engraving is totally off. On the gen it is Au750 etc, whereas on the Rep it says inox steel, which is utterly wrong. Only reason how this could have happened is, that they just took the buckle from the stainless steel Portofinos and just plated them. Lazy maker.
Strap and Buckle therefore get a mere 6,5 / 10

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Totting up the scores, all out of 10:
Dial : 9
Hands : 8,5
Datewheel: 9,5
Crystal : 10
Externals : 7
Caseback : 8
Movement: 7
Strap & buckle : 6,5

Total: 64 / 80

Finally, to sum it up, how does it feel on the wrist?
It feels almost identical to gen on the wrist, it’s a little lighter which you can notice if you wear it lose. But it looks identical to gen at wrist distance. Having swapped out the strap to a decent one, it wears very comfortably and slides under the cuff with ease. It’s the perfect dress-watch for someone who wants something you don’t see every day. I have never seen another gen “out in the wild”.
The overall score is 65,5 / 80, which doesn’t sound like a lot. If we were to put the value for money into the equation, we would probably get a much better score. It’s a fantastic watch for the money and you won’t get called out, unless you take it off and hand it to someone who knows what he’s talking about.

can u post the link of that mkf v5 version on some td's site ? thx
 

norabdrab

You're Saying I Can Sell?
10/11/19
55
1
8
Got this watch from Puretime because of this review and although it is a nice representation it does have a pinkish color as per the review.
 

trendconcept

Renowned Member
13/6/16
619
265
63
Thats one hell of a review! Thank you so much for taking the time for this. I have two steel versions with the white and the black dial. They are great watches.
 

hadamokel

Active Member
11/12/17
330
225
43
Germany
Thats one hell of a review! Thank you so much for taking the time for this. I have two steel versions with the white and the black dial. They are great watches.

Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated. In my eyes, iwc watches don't get the respect and love they deserve. I have a YLF 3714 as well, it turned to one of my all time favorites and daily driver to the office.
 
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hadamokel

Active Member
11/12/17
330
225
43
Germany
Got this watch from Puretime because of this review and although it is a nice representation it does have a pinkish color as per the review.

I believe the closeness of rep gold colour to Gen gold colour is a never ending story in our world :D