Fake IW329132 v2: the short answer
There is no IWC model called the IW329132 v2. IW329132 is a real reference in IWC's Portugieser Automatic 42 line, and "v2" is seller shorthand for the second revision of a counterfeit built to look like it. The tag means the factory changed something after the first batch, usually dial printing, case finishing, or movement decoration. It does not mean the watch is real, and it does not mean the differences are gone.
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What the version tag actually signals
Factories that build counterfeit IWC watches work in batches. A first run ships, buyers post photos on forums, and the flaws get catalogued: heavy print, a wrong crown profile, a rotor that looks nothing like the real one. The next run fixes a few of those and the sellers call it v2. Sometimes a v3 follows. The label is marketing, and it usually arrives with a price bump over the previous batch.
So when you see "v2" in a listing, read it as a claim about which flaws were addressed, not as a quality grade. The seller is telling you the first version had problems worth fixing.
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Where a second-gen replica usually gets closer
Dial work is the first thing most factories improve. On the genuine Portugieser Automatic 42, the indices are applied, polished, and set high enough that you can catch a fingernail on the edge. Early replicas glued flat strips to the dial and printed the minute track a touch heavy. V2 dials often correct the print weight and land closer on the white or blue, but the index polish still flattens under a loupe.
Case finishing is the second area. The real case mixes fine brushing on the flanks with crisp polished bevels along the lugs. Replicas tend to blur that line, or polish the top of the lug where the genuine stays brushed. Photo comparisons in bright daylight show it faster than a hand-in-hand look.
The tells I check first
- Print: the brand name and city line should be thin, sharp, and evenly spaced. Replica print looks slightly fat and sits a hair high on the dial.
- Small seconds: the subdial ring should be printed with clean concentric circles, and the hand should reach the track without overhanging it.
- Hands: feuille hands on the genuine have a beveled edge that catches light along its full length. Fakes often have a plain dome.
- Crystal: genuine anti-reflective coating is close to invisible. A blue or purple wash at an angle is a giveaway.
- Crown: the logo engraving should be deep and cut, not stamped soft.
- Caseback: engraving on a real IWC is crisp and uniform in depth. Reference and serial numbers should match the papers, if any exist.
- Alignment: markers, hands, and the crown all line up on the genuine. Small drift on a replica is common.
The movement is where the gap stays widest
The genuine watch runs an in-house IWC automatic with Pellaton winding, and the decoration is done by hand to a standard no replica shop matches. Look at the rotor, the perlage on the plates, and the screw heads. Real screws are polished and blued or mirror-finished, with slots that catch light cleanly. Fakes show plated rotors, stamped plates, and screws with burred slots.
Winding feel matters too. The crown on a genuine IWC moves with a light, even resistance. A clone movement feels gritty, or spins with almost no feedback. Ask for a timegrapher photo if you are buying secondhand, since a real IWC will hold tight rates and a cheap movement will not.
Price, papers, and the legal side
Second-generation fakes of this reference sell for a few hundred dollars. The genuine watch runs into five figures. When a listing offers box, papers, and a receipt at a fraction of retail, the paperwork is the cheapest part to fake, so treat it as decoration.
Buying or selling counterfeit goods is illegal in the United States, and shipments get seized at the border. That risk sits with the buyer, and a seized package is money gone with no recourse.