IWC Schaffhausen – International Watch Company

Jamee Caña

If there’s one accessory that most of us, both men and women, love to collect, it’s a good selection of watches. We find them sentimental, functional and truly a work of art. A timepiece embodies exceptional craftsmanship and a unique talent of a watchmaker. We can’t help but admire the dedication and hard work they put into these tiny little pieces to assemble such classic aesthetic. The ticking and circling of the hands around the dial make these pieces so intricate and beautiful and we are drawn to the fascinating movement and dances they create.

While a lot of us became so fascinated with this piece, manufacturers and watch companies go out of their way to make this piece as complicated as possible. They invented challenging complications like Rattrapante, chronograph, flyback, moon phase, tourbillon, perpetual calendar and many more to satisfy our fascination to this accessory.

And if we are to trace the origin and inspiration of these luxury brands, we would be more surprised of how much work they put to come up with these exquisite accessories. Now, let us give our focus to one of the well-established watch company in the globe—IWC Schaffhausen, and be inspired with its journey in the field of horology.

IWC Watch Reviews

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How It All Began

As the name itself implies, IWC Schaffhausen is a global brand offering luxury timepieces for over 150 years now. Founded by Florentine Ariosto Jones, an American engineer and a skilled watchmaker, he merged the traditional Swiss watchmaking and the American techniques into progressive timepieces for the American market.

His skills and training from E. Howard Watch and Clock Co. in Boston, USA (one of the leading watch brand during his time) coupled with dreams and desire to manufacture Swiss inspired pieces to the American market drove him to present his idea to Johann Heinrich Moser. This man was known for being a pioneer of hydroelectric power who introduced the first electric plant in Schaffhausen. In which during that time, the Schaffhausen was not open to idea of establishing watch manufacturing factory in the town. The success of Moser in hydroelectric power and the desire of Jones to establish a full-scale factory in the land gave birth to the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen.

IWC Timepiece on display in a boutique. Baden, Germany.
IWC Timepiece on display in a boutique. Baden, Germany. Hadrian

Timepieces and milestones

The brand IWC Schaffhausen gradually established its name with the introduction of classic timepieces to the market.  Let’s take a look on the iconic and colossal timepieces ever launched by the brand.

In 1885, IWC brought its first ever Pallweber pocket watches featuring digital hours and minutes. This gave way to multitude of intricately designed and well-crafted timepieces in different calibers like 64 caliber ladies pocket watch, 75 and 76 calibre as the first wristwatches introduced by IWC, tonneau-shaped 87 caliber in an elegant rectangular design, 89 calibre movement, 44 caliber which is the first automatic women’s movement from IWC, among others.

Another milestone of the company was the creation of special pilot watch in 1936 and the Big Pilot Watch 52 T.S.C with central seconds hand in 1940. The Portuguese watch in large wrist and high precision pocket was also a monumental move for IWC along with the military watch for the British army in 1944, Aquatimer (the beginning of a successful series of diver’s watches) in 1967 and 21 quartz movement Da Vinci in 1969.

IWC Schaffhausen watches on display in Strasbourg, France.
IWC Schaffhausen watches on display in Strasbourg, France. Hadrian

Standing the Test of Time

These classic pieces manufactured during the 19th century and early 20th century became the foundation of modern watches under the Jubilee collection (IWC tribute to Pallweber, Portugieser, Portofino, Da Vinci, Ingenieur and Pilot’s watches) presently produced by the brand.

At present, IWC offers the most highly coveted luxury watches on the market globally. The IWC portfolio now ranges from diver’s watch series, pilot family up to the professional sports timepieces. The company has continued to innovate and invent meticulous and well-crafted watches for over 150 years, and it will consistently provide the market with wider innovation in the field of horology.

IWC Schaffhausen proved that with passion and innovation, unique and timeless aesthetic pieces will be created. It all started with an idea, talent and skill to finally establish a respectable name in the field of horology. IWC Schaffhausen has made it globally and will continue to build its name as one of the top luxury watch brand in the world.

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IWC watch boutique in Hongkong.
IWC watch boutique in Hongkong. TungCheung


IWC Schaffhausen Logo

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