The history of IWC watches

IWC watches

The IWC brand was created in 1868 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

The firm was founded by a young American watchmaker, Florentine Ariosto Jones, who was attracted by the cheaper labour in Switzerland, mainly to supply the American market.

In Switzerland, Jones met Johann Heinrich Moser, a leading watchmaker with whom he joined forces to found the first watchmaking factory in Schaffhausen: the International Watch Co.

IWC subsequently went bankrupt twice, in 1875 and 1879, and was taken over by an industrialist, Johannes Rauschenbach-Vogel. For almost a century and a half, the company remained in the same family, which was dedicated to the art of quality watchmaking.

In 1885, IWC produced the first digital watch.

The first pocket watch was launched in 1914, featuring the Calibre 64. In 1935, the first aviators’ watch was developed.

The firm gradually expanded from small pocket watches into developing extremely complex watches.

In 1985, IWC launched the Da Vinci, equipped with an automatic chronograph and a perpetual calendar. The same year it launched the Il Destriero Scafusia, with a split-second chronograph, a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon, and a minute repeater. Other models, including the Ingénieur and the Portuguaise, also stand out.

In 2000, IWC was bought out by the Richemont group.

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