IWC

International Watch Co. “IWC”

Florentine A. Jones, an engineer from Boston, USA, founded IWC in Schaffhausen in Switzerland. Not only was he proficient in running a business, he also mastered the craft of watch-making. In 1868, while most Americans headed west to seek their fortunes, Florentine, at 27, moved across Atlantic Ocean to Switzerland. He adopted the Swiss watch-making craft and used low-cost local labor and low-cost electricity and water utilities to manufacture and export the watches at a competitive price, challenging the intense competition from emerging watch companies in the USA.

Florentine left America for Schaffhausen in north-eastern Switzerland to found IWC. His cutting-edge ideas of substituting machinery for some labor were realized. This greatly helped to manufacture more precise components. In 1868 IWC’s launched their Calibre movement pocket watch which greatly improved the precision and constant temperature of pocket watches, making IWC a reputed brand. The pocket watch Grande Complication launched in 1890 gained the recognition and the certificate of merit for its remarkably high quality from the International watch and clock association.

In the early 20^th century, IWC gradually shifted to manufacture wrist watches. During World War I, IWC had manufactured large quantities of luminous military watches. During World War II, IWC launched B-Uhr, an anti-magnetic pilot watch exclusively developed for pilots of German Luftwaffe. B-Uhr’s Caliber 52SC was based on the pocket watch Caliber 52. In order to accommodate the dimness and the abundance of electro-magnetic radiation inside a pilot’s cabin, not only had B-Uhr pilot watch shifted to a central sweeping second hand (a special hand for recording short flying times) there was also an inner layer of anti-magnetic soft iron between the dial and the movement, protecting the watch from electro-magnetic interference ensuring its stability and precision.

In 1943, IWC had developed the renowned Mark X pilot watch for British air force. In 1947 and 1948, the Mark X was developed into the Mark XI, which become the most-desired watch among collectors in a short time. Over the years, the owners of IWC watches include some prominent people such as royal family members, movie stars, tycoons and the Pope.

Even though 140 years have passed the IWC’s Calibre movement pocket watch is still fearless of change. All technicians at IWC commend their predecessors after seeing the precise IWC’s Calibre movement pocket watch because with the limited technological development in 1868, the difference in time for IWC watches is less than 3 seconds every day since then.

**no guarantee about story is completely accurate and existed difference**