Footballer Bastian Schweisteiger spotted wearing a IWC

Bastian Schweinsteiger, the decorated German international and former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder, was spotted wearing an IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde in platinum, reference IW504401 — a piece that sits firmly at the summit of IWC's complications catalogue and commands immediate attention from serious collectors.

The IW504401 is built around IWC's in-house Calibre 98900, a manually wound movement beating at 18,000 vph with a power reserve of approximately 96 hours. Its headline complication is the tourbillon mystérieux — a flying tourbillon mounted on a transparent sapphire disc, creating the optical illusion that the cage rotates without any visible driving mechanism. Paired with a retrograde date display that snaps back at month's end, the movement represents one of the most complex and labour-intensive constructions ever to emerge from the Schaffhausen manufacture. The platinum case measures 44.2mm, lending the dial a cool, weighty presence entirely in keeping with the watch's technical ambitions.

The Portugieser Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde occupies rare territory within the IWC range — positioned above even the standard Tourbillon references, it appeals to collectors who want grand complications without the flamboyance of a tourbillon exposed through a traditional cage. The sapphire-disc execution gives this piece a genuinely modern identity within a collection historically associated with clean, dressy Portuguese dials dating back to 1939. Production numbers are extremely limited, reinforcing its status as a true connoisseur's piece rather than a catalogue filler.

Schweinsteiger, who won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany and accumulated over a decade of elite European football at Bayern Munich and Manchester United, relocated to Major League Soccer with Chicago Fire in 2017. His taste in watches reflects the understated confidence of someone who has nothing left to prove — platinum over gold, mechanical complexity over brand visibility.

With a UK list price of approximately £80,000, the IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde IW504401 sits in serious complication territory. On the secondary market, platinum examples in strong condition trade at comparable or modestly firmer figures, underpinned by limited supply and the enduring prestige of IWC's high-complications pedigree.