Switching up the pace here, this Porsche Design Ultra Sportivo is a great way to get in on the PD look for less than $1,000. The partnership between Porsche Design and IWC ran from 1978 to 1997. While the PD Chronograph 1 and Compass Watch from earlier in this run catch most of the attention, I have always been intrigued by these later models from the 1990s. Here, we see the partnership grow into an entire collection. PD offered a “normal” watch, the UK perfect replica IWC Ultra Sportivo, a dive watch, the Ocean, the world’s first titanium chronograph, the Titan, and still, the Compass. Of the four, the various Ultra Sportivo iterations, found on both Hublot-esque straps and full titanium bracelets as we have here, are the most accessible way to get into the PD design language.
Towards the end of the partnership, we can observe a branding shift in these AAA fake watches, focusing more on the Porsche Design language than the IWC. Rather than a full cursive “International Watch Co Schaffhausen” on the dial at 12 o’clock, here we have “PORSCHE DESIGN” loud and proud with a smaller “by IWC” at six. The reason for this shift is fascinating. By the early 90s, the Porsche Design lineup was said to have been 20% of IWC’s sales, and these top copy watches were doing quite well. As a result, PD looked to invest more heavily in watchmaking. The Porsche family poked around purchasing IWC at this time, unable to jar it from JLC’s, or Mannesmann’s, grasp. The family also reportedly made an offer on Vacheron. In the end, Porsche Design acquired Eterna in 1995.
As Porsche Design was getting Eterna up to speed, the brand was less interested in giving IWC the more prominent branding on PD dials. Given the non-Tritium lume on this high quality fake watches, I assume it was made in one of the last few years of the IWC partnership. As you might expect, the Ultra Sportivo is quartz-powered and ultra slim, wearing very comfortably and retro-feeling at 32mm in diameter. It is a great daily wearer and an interesting piece of Porsche Design history.
An eBay seller in Madison, Wisconsin has listed UK cheap super clone IWC Ultra Sportivo for a Buy It Now price of $900.