I own vintage & modern watches from both companies and I'd say they're pretty close in quality, so much so that it's a coin toss. My watchmaker turned me on to IWC - it's one of his favorite brands. The mid-size Portofino is a very nice watch since I prefer 40 mm or less, and the De Ville is really nice looking too. I'd go try both on and see which one feels the best since both are well suited to what you want.

 

They're both very nice, but personally I prefer the Prestige.. I own the small second version of the prestige & really like it. Nowhere near as robust as the rest of my collection, but this is my dress watch - it's not supposed to be as robust as a diver...

 

That is nice Scott. :001_tt1::thumbup1:

-Bond

 

now thats a dress watch:thumbup:

super nice DeVille mR. Scott.:thumbup1:

diver88

 

Ah shucks.. Thanks guys! :blushing: :thumbup1:

To be honest the De Ville was an impulse buy & I kind of regretted buying it shortly thereafter as it wasn't the actual dress watch I'd wanted, but I got it for a really good buy. I felt like I'd settled a bit. But, it has really grown on me & I find myself looking for excuses to wear it now... I've got a deployment strap on order & can't wait to get it on it's deployant instead of the tang buckle.. it'll get even more wearing then.. :thumbup1:

Silva,
Here's 2 more pictures I took just today to help push you over the De Ville-edge. :thumbup1:

 

the DeVille gets my vote. Nice OMEGA Scott D:thumbup:

 

Stopped by the IWC AD today to look at the Portofino. Nice watch but I like the Roman numeral markings on the De Ville more than the hash marks on the IWC.

The Prestige Small Seconds would be in the running except I think something smaller than 40mm is what I would want to wear under a tailored cuff.

The Prestige Auto is also a few hundred dollars cheaper than the IWC . That's a pretty good bonus, don't you think?

 

The Prestige Small Seconds would be in the running except I think something smaller than 40mm is what I would want to wear under a tailored cuff.

No problem, the small seconds is 39mm... :lol: :lol: :lol: :thumbup1:

 

8", which is another reason I didn't care for the De Ville at first. It actually looked too small after all my 42 - 44mm watches... :huh:

But I'd recommend wearing a dress shirt into an AD & trying them on.. Maybe it'll work, but then maybe a 36 or 37mm would be better for you if you have smaller wrists.

 

That's good to know. My wrists are closer to 6.75". With a short sleeved shirt, I can pull off a 42mm, but dress shirts are a different challenge.

The local AD is out of Prestige autos and Small Seconds. They are quoting me 2 months minimum to order from Switzerland.

The IWC AD is out of steel Portofinos with no indication as to when the growing waiting list can be satiated. They still have the yellow and rose gold variants, along with the boutique exclusive white gold versions, but these are definitely out of my reach.

I did see a 42mm Speedmaster that tickled my fancy. I don't like chronos generally but that one has me VERY interested. I'll be flipping my Explorer and Tank Francaise to make room for the Speedmaster and the Prestige or Portofino, depending on which AD is able to obtain stock first.