IWC Luxury Watch or An American in Switzerland

The story of the International Watch Company IWC cannot be told in a few sentences. Many components are unique to her and her watch models. Firstly, the geographical location far away from the Swiss watch capitals in a peripheral region near the Rhine; secondly, the curious reversal of the trend of 150 years ago, which attracted many emigrants from Europe to America, while the founder of the International Watch Company (IWC) set out from the states to the then low-wage country of Switzerland. The engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones relied on a transcontinental cooperation with chutzpah and pioneering spirit: Switzerland's watchmaking experts, its state-of-the-art machine technology imported from the States and the American "anything goes" motto were to build a broad-based watch empire. In addition to the practical consideration of using the energy of the Rhine power stations, the fact that he settled in the Schaffhausen watch cradle also had a historical ulterior motive. Clocks were made in nearby Kloster Rheinau as early as 1409 and a "guild of fireworkers, gunsmiths, watchmakers and winch makers" is already mentioned in documents in 1583.In Schaffhausen, the legendary watchmaker family Habrecht created an astronomical clock for the cathedral of Strasbourg. Jones obviously had a feel not only for what was feasible, but also for the genius loci. He failed - not least because of the high import duties in the USA - and went back to the States and other owners and managing directors were struggling with roaring Rhine waves. But with the takeover by the Schaffhäuser industrialist Johannes Rauschenbach in 1879 the wind turned. Luck did not seem to want to leave IWC, even the bomb attack on April 1, 1944 could not destroy the IWC factory site. The upward trend continued into the middle of the 20th century. Even the quartz watch crisis in the seventies and eighties did not have a major impact on the IWC battleship. With company captain Günter Blümlein, who was regarded as a genius, the company remained steadily on the road to success.

The IWC crown jewels

Today high to highest collector's prices are paid for particularly sought-after IWC rarities. The company's history is paved with milestones. Shortly after the company was founded, the Pallweber pocket watch amazed with its digital display of hours and minutes. Albert Pellaton developed the automatic winding mechanism. At the end of the 19th century, the company recognized the future potential of wristwatches and relied on its own movements. In the 1930s, the IWC original pocket movements were installed in high-precision wristwatches. Ahead of its time are the 1948 aviator watch XI, protected from magnetic fields, and its no less spectacular successors, which the British Air Force used to measure time. This is followed by the aviator chronograph and the Porsche Design by IWD series with titanium watches such as the Ocean 2000 and the compass watch developed in 1978. The first titanium chronograph was launched in 1980. Not to forget the Da-Vinci from 1985, a chronograph with many complications such as perpetual calendar, tourbillon, moon phase display. With the presentation of an exclusive rarity - the Schaffhausen warhorse or Destriero Scafusia - IWC celebrated its company anniversary in 1993. 125 copies were issued within a very short time. Model names like Spitfire Chronograph (e.g. reference IW387802), Big Pilot Watch (e.g. reference IW501901), Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, Rattrapante-Chrono, Portofino (e.g. reference IW391007) make collectors and watch lovers pay attention.

IWC - Durable watch families for a few

IWC collections - families - take up cultural-historical aspects with preference. Watch history was written by the very first wristwatch with Grande Complication, the diving watches inspired by the optics of diving suits, the grandiose pilot watches, the first watch with digital display. The IWC Ingenieur family shines through its unique understatement in form. With its strong emphasis on functionality, it is preferred by virile carriers who profess noble restraint. The IWC-Portuguese family sees itself as a tribute to the great seafaring nation of Portugal. The IWC Da Vinci family bowed to the Tuscan universal genius Leonardo da Vinci, whose alleged airplane propulsion emerged in the nineties as the original movement. Light-footed Italianità makes its mark on the IWC-Portofino family. They too made a strong commitment to understatement when, from 1970, daring and sensational designer watches increasingly dominated the market. In 1967 IWC reacted to the increasing popularity of diving with the development of diving watches in the Aquatimer family, which experienced a celebrated revival in 2009. Since the first pilot watch from 1936 until today, the IWC pilot watch family has been anchored in the company portfolio as a traditional and indispensable member.

For Machos only?

The International Watch Company makes no secret of the fact that it builds its watches for the masculine, daring, hands-on man. Robustness, technical complexity and a sporty, powerful appearance made the brand unmistakably masculine. The award-winning IWC advertising from the nineties "IWC watches - almost as complicated as women. But on time", the company received a complaint from the Swiss Society for Fairness. And the Swiss equal opportunities commissioner assessed the slogan "Almost as beautiful as a woman. Ticks however correctly despite the ironizing intention as sexist. However, IWC could be sure of the acclamation of their male regular clientele. IWC was exposed to globality at an early stage. It was not without reason that the Swiss company of American origin positioned its flag store in Hong Kong. And only there are special exclusive accessory collections in conceivably small quantities available. For a few - but only the best!