Gob Bluth
27
IWC Small Portuguese Ref. 3531 (4th times the charm)
Jan 17, 2023,17:45 PM
I finally tracked down a mint, untouched IWC 3531 Small Portuguese in steel after selling my 3rd 3531 in 2017. My history with this reference is long. I traded a Rolex 1675 in primo condition for my first steel 3531 in April 2012, back when the IWC was nearly impossible to find online. This trade stings looking back at what I gave up but, at the time, I was as ecstatic as I had searched for a 3531 for over 4 years with no luck.
Within a month of trading for my 1st 3531, I was offered a black dial steel 3531 and bought it too. I sold both 3531 in 2015 as I moved into sport watch territory and did not think twice about the sales. In 2016, I got the itch again, found a rose gold 3531 and bought it without hesitation. I sold the rose gold 3531 about a year later and didn't look back.
Now, as I've moved on from steel sport watches, I found myself lusting over the 3531 again. I found a pristine example from an EU based seller, made an offer and had the watch within a week. Looking back, I'm not sure how I ever gave this beauty up (let alone three times). To me, this is the most proportional IWC Portuguese ever made (the script on the dial is the icing on the cake). The only way to improve the aesthetics would be to replace the stamped dial with applied numerals. Maybe this dial would make me part with this watch for the 4th time?