Watch Paparazzi

Television presenter James May spotted wearing IWC

James May was caught on camera wearing what appears to be an IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Chronograph, most likely reference IW371446, on a black alligator leather strap with a white silver-toned dial. The sighting is consistent with May's well-documented appreciation for precision engineering expressed through everyday objects — watches included.

The Portugieser Chronograph IW371446 is a 41mm stainless steel piece housing IWC's in-house Calibre 89361, a column-wheel chronograph movement based on the Pellaton architecture with a 68-hour power reserve. The white lacquered dial features Arabic numerals in a classic railway-track chapter ring layout, with two subdials — small seconds at 12 o'clock and a 12-hour chronograph counter at 6 — and IWC's signature blued-steel hands. The tachymeter scale on the outer chapter ring and the 'CHRONOGRAPH AUTOMATIC' text at 9 o'clock are clearly visible in the product image, confirming this generation of Portugieser.

The Portugieser line traces its origins to 1939, when two Portuguese merchants commissioned pocket-watch-accurate wristwatches from IWC. That brief gave the collection its large-case DNA and legibility-first dial philosophy. The reference IW371446, produced through much of the 2010s before the 2020 redesign (IW371616), represents the last significant iteration of the traditional Portugieser Chronograph format and is now considered by collectors to be the purest expression of the line.

For James May, the choice makes complete sense. A trained musician and engineering enthusiast who has publicly discussed his admiration for mechanical precision, May gravitates toward tools rather than trophies. The Portugieser Chronograph sits squarely in that category — respected among horologists, invisible to those chasing logos, and built around a movement that rewards inspection.

On the grey market, the IW371446 has held value steadily since its discontinuation, trading at a modest premium to its original retail. With the newer IW371616 pushing prices upward, the older reference offers arguably better collector value: same movement, same dial spirit, slightly smaller footprint at 41mm versus the current 41mm refresh that altered proportions. For anyone following May's lead, this is a watch that rewards patience over spectacle.