IWC Schaffhausen

Founded in 1868 by American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones, IWC (International Watch Company) was established in Schaffhausen, Switzerland with the vision of combining American manufacturing efficiency with Swiss watchmaking expertise. Jones, formerly a director at E. Howard & Co. in Boston, partnered with industrialist Heinrich Moser to build a modern factory powered by hydroelectricity from the Rhine. After financial difficulties led to bankruptcy, the company was acquired by Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel in 1880 for 280,000 francs. The Rauschenbach family, later connected by marriage to famed psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, guided IWC through multiple generations. Ernst Jakob Homberger led the company through both World Wars, during which IWC became one of five manufacturers producing B-Uhren pilot watches for the German Luftwaffe. The company pioneered the first digital pocket watch in 1885 and launched its legendary Caliber 89 movement in the 1940s. During the quartz crisis of the 1970s, IWC innovated with titanium cases and collaborated with designer Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. Under Günter Blümlein's leadership from 1981, IWC joined the LMH Group in 1991 alongside Jaeger-LeCoultre and A. Lange & Söhne, before being acquired by Richemont in 2000 for CHF 2.8 billion.