Television presenter Stéphane Rotenberg spotted wearing a IWC

French television presenter Stéphane Rotenberg was recently seen wearing an IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar ref. IW5001, a timepiece that sits firmly in the upper tier of IWC's grand complication catalogue. The sighting adds the M6 broadcaster to a quietly growing roster of European media personalities who gravitate toward understated horological substance over flashier sporting references.

The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar IW5001 is built around the in-house calibre 51611, a movement that descends directly from IWC's storied 5000-series pocket-watch ebauche. The 44.2 mm white or red gold case — depending on variant — hosts a perpetual calendar displaying date, day, month, and four-digit year through elegantly arranged subsidiary dials on a clean lacquered dial. The movement delivers a 7-day power reserve via twin spring barrels, a hallmark of the Portugieser line's original brief: wristwatch dimensions wrapped around pocket-watch power reserves. The moon phase display is accurate to one day in 577 years, requiring no correction within any collector's lifetime.

Among serious collectors, the 5001 generation holds a particular place. It represents IWC at its most architecturally traditional — before the brand moved toward the slimmer, more technically evolved perpetual calendar platforms that followed. The reference is regarded as a faithful, long-running execution of a proven complication, prioritising legibility and mechanical reliability over novelty. Production spanned the better part of two decades, giving the reference strong recognition in the secondary market.

Rotenberg, best known internationally as the longtime host of the adventure cooking competition Pékin Express on M6, has cultivated a public image built around endurance, precision, and travel — temperamentally consistent with a watch that demands nothing of its owner except to keep it wound. Whether the choice is deliberate or instinctive, the Portugieser 5001 reads as a confident statement from a man comfortable operating in high-pressure environments.

On the grey market, the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar IW5001 trades across a wide range depending on metal, dial colour, and service history, with white gold examples in strong condition typically attracting meaningful premiums over their original retail positions. For a perpetual calendar from a major maison with in-house manufacture, the 5001 remains competitively priced against Patek, Lange, and Jaeger peers.