Skip to content
The Encyclopedia of Horology

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

International Watch Company (IWC)

Verified

Machine-assisted precision movements; pocket watches and pilots' watches

History

Founded by an American watchmaker who intended to combine American machine methods with Swiss labour, IWC settled in German-speaking Schaffhausen and built a reputation for robust high-grade pocket watch calibres and, later, pilots' and engineers' wristwatches.

Major innovations

  • Jones-calibre pocket watch movements combining American methods with Swiss finishing

Known markings

  • 'International Watch Co. Schaffhausen'
  • Probus Scafusia mark in later periods

Serial numbers

The firm holds production records and issues archive extracts for documented serials.

Collecting significance

Early Jones-era movements are the principal research interest for pocket watch collectors.

Photographs

ETH-BIB-Schaffhausen, Uhrenfabrik IWC (International Watch Company)-Inlandflüge-LBS MH03-1245
ETH-BIB-Schaffhausen, Uhrenfabrik IWC (International Watch Company)-Inlandflüge-LBS MH03-1245 — Walter Mittelholzer, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page
International Watch Company logo
International Watch Company logo — IWC Schaffhausen, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Published manufacturer and auction catalogue literature

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.