World's Top Watchmakers - IWC

There are only a few watchmakers in the world who have endured over one hundred years of fluctuating marketplaces and ever-changing public tastes and opinions. Although they've had their share of hot and cold runs, IWC has always been able to stand out as a creator of fine watches.

IWC, which stands for the International Watch Company, was founded in 1869 when Florentine Ariosto Jones, an engineer from America, decided to make the big move to the hub of watch-making, Switzerland. At first, the company only produced high-quality parts for watches and shipped them mostly overseas.

A few years after IWC proved to be a successful venture, Jones met a fellow watchmaker, Johann Heinrich Moser, and the duo began to produce a line of pocket watches.

Moser was already considered a true pioneer in watch-making before he met Jones, but together, the two set new trends and became known as the most innovative craftsmen of the late 1800s. The first pocket watches released were called the "Jones caliber," after Florentine, and they sold rather well due to the precision craftsmanship and unique characteristics.

All good things must come to an end, however, and after a few years after firmly planting their feet, the two men decided to hand over their business to Swiss native, Johannes Rauschenbach-Vogel in 1880. The new owner picked up where the previous two left off, producing quality timepieces.

Today, the digital indication watches produced by IWC are extremely rare, but at the time, they were all the rage. Johannes' wife and two daughters, along with their respective husbands, took over IWC in 1905 after his death.

The 1930s are considered the crowning years for the company. During this time, they designed a line of watches known as the "Big Pilot." As the name suggests, these watches were used commonly by aviators. Since their mechanism was non-magnetic, the watches were able to keep precision time under a host of conditions.

In 1934, Hans Ernst Homberger, the last of the Rauschenbach heirs, joined his father's company and ultimately took control of IWC as the sole proprietor after his father's death in 1955. He would add on to the company in 1957, expanding the factory and improving the technology in order to move IWC into the future.

With a high demand and limited supply, the company needed to produce more watches without sacrificing quality. They also needed to be innovative; Swiss watchmakers are world renowned for their innovation in the field. Standing out is no easy task.

After a few years of careful design and painstaking craftsmanship, IWC was in close competition with other Swiss developers, all working on the first automatic mechanism. The automatic spring watch has stood the test of time, literally, with no adjustments being made to the design even decades after its debut.

In 1969, the company released its first quartz wristwatch, the Da Vinci, and in 1978, they created the world's first titanium watches. At the time of this creation, it was considered impossible to work with titanium. Going against the grain of accepted wisdom perfectly sums up IWC's storied history. Many of their timepieces are truly priceless.

World's Top Watchmakers - IWC