Short answer
A fake Portugieser hand wound 42 is a copy of the IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days. The real watch has a case near 43 mm across. Sellers round that figure to 42 in listing titles. Replica examples sell from about $60 to $600. The movement inside sets the price. A real 8-day power reserve does not appear in this price band.
What the genuine reference is
IWC builds the Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days as a manual wind watch with a small seconds subdial and a power reserve display. IWC prints case diameter, thickness and caliber number on its own product pages, one page per reference. The numbers differ between steel, gold and anniversary versions. Check the IWC page for the exact reference before you compare a replica photo to a catalog image.
Movements found in replicas
- Quartz: battery cell. The seconds hand ticks one step per second. Low tier, about $60 to $120.
- Asian automatic: rotor hidden or removed to look hand wound. Reserve runs 36 to 42 hours. About $150 to $300.
- Asian hand-wound: Seagull ST19 and similar clones. Reserve runs 40 to 50 hours. About $250 to $600.
No replica in this range reaches the 192 hour reserve of the genuine caliber. Ask the seller for a reserve test. Wind the watch full, set it down, and check the time after 48 hours.
Points to inspect
- Case width. Measure with calipers. Copies run 41.5 mm to 43.5 mm.
- Crystal. Mineral glass scratches. Sapphire with an anti-reflective coating costs more and reads clearer.
- Dial print. Genuine numerals are applied metal. Copies use glued or printed numerals.
- Hands. Blued steel on the genuine piece. Copies use painted steel or lacquer.
- Caseback. Exhibition backs show the movement. Look for striped plates and screws, not printed plates.
US legal position
US customs rules ban import of goods that carry a counterfeit trademark. Under 19 U.S.C. 1526, CBP can seize a shipment and destroy it. The buyer can face a civil penalty. Sellers that ship from inside the US remove the seizure risk. They do not change the trademark status.
What is not known
Replica factories change suppliers without notice. Movement markings, lug width and strap hardware vary between batches of the same listing. No published spec sheet covers a replica. Photographs of the actual unit sent to you are the only reliable record.