IWC Schaffhausen

Founded in 1868 by American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Jones, formerly a director at E. Howard & Co. in Boston, partnered with industrialist Heinrich Moser to build a factory powered by Rhine hydroelectricity. Financial difficulties led to bankruptcy, and Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel acquired the company on 17 February 1880 for 280,000 francs. The Rauschenbach family, later connected by marriage to psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, guided IWC through four generations. IWC manufactured the first digital pocket watch in 1885 based on the Pallweber patent. The 1936 Special Pilot's Watch and 1940 Big Pilot's Watch established IWC's aviation heritage. During World War II, IWC was one of five manufacturers producing B-Uhren observation watches for the German Luftwaffe. The company pioneered titanium watch cases during the quartz crisis. Günter Blümlein led IWC into the LMH Group in 1991, before Richemont acquired the company in 2000. In 2024, the Portugieser Eternal Calendar won the Aiguille d'Or at the GPHG.