IWC Schaffhausen
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More about IWC Schaffhausen
The five splendid model ranges, from which just about everyone will be able to choose the watch of their dreams, are unequivocal proof of IWC Schaffhausen’s position as a world leader in fine horology. Another testament to the brand’s models’ exceptionality is that after registering your newly purchased watch online, the brand grants you an incredible eight-year warranty – something which certainly is not offered by every Swiss watchmaker.
Aware of its exceptional status as one of the world’s major watchmaking manufactures, IWC Schaffhausen feels a great responsibility for its sustainability and the environment giving these issues high priority – and not only when it comes to the production of its watches. Its timepieces are made with the highest consideration for the environment in the state-of-the-art Manufakturzentrum production facility which was opened only two years ago. Both the brand and its suppliers of gold, platinum, and diamonds are members of the Responsible Jewellery Council. Its customers can, therefore, rest absolutely assured that the precious stones and metals used have been extracted in an ethical fashion without any violations of human rights.
History of the brand
In western Switzerland on the banks of the River Rhine near the imposing Rhine Falls lies the town of Schaffhausen. This is where the history of the brand with the initials IWC (International Watch Company) started. The company was founded in this town in 1868 by Florentine Ariosto Jones, an engineer and watchmaker from the American city of Boston, after his plan to produce quality watches for the American market in Geneva failed to come off. This location not only allowed him to take advantage of the skills of experienced Swiss watchmakers but also to utilise the power of the Rhine.Initially, the firm produced high-quality pocket watches which would soon earn it renown. In the 1880s International Watch Company bought the licence to a unique mechanism which showed the time in a digital fashion. By way of rotating discs featuring large numerals it was possible to display the hours and minutes in large apertures on the dial. IWC bought the patent for the mechanism from the Salzburg watchmaker Josef Pallweber. In the first half of the 20th century the manufacture achieved even greater fame through its wristwatches, both for men and women. To this day, the brand has been reaping the fruits of the innovative and entrepreneurial zeal of its founder “Master Jones”.
By the 1930s IWC Schaffhausen had presented its first pilot’s watches. These would become truly iconic over the years. That same period also saw the birth of the legendary Portugieser line – exquisite classic timepieces of superb quality featuring intricate complications such as perpetual calendars. International Watch Company, however, always kept its finger on the pulse of the times, so in the 1960s it unveiled its first diver’s watch, water-resistant to a depth of 200 metres (20 bars) - unprecedented at the time.
The “quartz crisis” in the 1970s – when the mechanical Swiss gems of horology found themselves roundly beaten in terms of accuracy by much cheaper battery-powered watches from Japan – gave rise to an, at first, inconspicuous development which would eventually prove ground-breaking for the brand and for mechanical watchmaking in general. As production slumped, accomplished watchmaker Kurt Klaus had plenty of time to experiment and rack his brains on novel solutions. Finally, his efforts paid off in the form of a game-changing perpetual calendar which was unveiled in 1985.
When interest in mechanical watches was on the rise again in the 1990s, IWC Schaffhausen had plenty to offer and alongside sporty models the brand also presented high complications and in-house chronographs which are at the top of the market.
A new chapter in the brand’s history started in 2000 when it became part of the Richemont luxury group. Since then, IWC Schaffhausen has not only continued to produce sports models in cases which use new materials, such as sand-coloured ceramic or ceratanium, but it also still crafts classic highly complicated timepieces. Regardless of which IWC Schaffhausen model you choose, there is no way you will ever regret it.