Since abandoning its once famous slogan “Engineered for men”, IWC has tiptoed into the world of ladies’ watches. Now for the first time the Schaffhausen watchmaker has made the annual Laureus limited edition a ladies’ watch, in contrast to earlier editions (like last year’s Ingenieur Laureus) that were large watches engineered for men.

A variation of the Portofino Midsize introduced two years ago, the Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Edition “Laureus Sport for Good Foundation” still retains the deep, metallic blue dial that characterise the Laureus timepieces. But the dial also features 12 round diamonds marking the hours and a moon phase display at 12 o’clock. It’s powered by a self-winding calibres made by Sellita, favoured for its robust and affordable movements.

The stainless steel case is 37 mm in diameter, and in the tradition of the series the back is engraved with a facsimile of a child’s drawing. Done by a 16-year old Cypriot girl, the drawing won the contest IWC holds each year to select the case back decoration.

A charity established by Richemont, the Swiss luxury conglomerate that owns IWC, as well as the corporate parent of Mercedes-Benz, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation helps children in disadvantaged places with sports-related projects. For instance, the winner of this year’s drawing contest is active in a project that encourages Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot children on the divided island to play basketball together.

Pricing and availability

The Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Laureus edition (ref. IW459006) is fitted to a blue Santoni alligator leather strap finished in variegated tones that’s a signature of the Italian shoemaker.

Available in stores now, it’s limited to 1500 pieces, with a price tag of S$13,300 (including taxes) in Singapore. That’s equivalent to US$9860, and just about three percent higher than the list price of the regular model. Part of the proceeds from the sale of each Laureus wristwatch will go to the foundation.