The dials of these watches bear the inscription IWC Schaffhausen, and one can only be surprised that the watch factory, known throughout the world, is located in a small quiet town on the Rhine, far from the watchmaking centers in Western Switzerland, and bears a completely non-Swiss name. This atypical story began 137 years ago. A young American from Boston, Florentine Ariosto Jones, a watchmaker, dreamed, using modern American equipment, to build a high-precision pocket watch factory in Switzerland. In 1868, Jones settles down near the Rhine Falls and establishes the International Watch Company, which combines the elegance of watchmaking with outstanding engineering achievements. His motto is: "Probus Scafusia - Quality from Schaffhausen."
The only East-Swiss manufactory made a splash already in 1885, striking the world with one of the first pocket watches with time indication. Special watches, solving special problems, were and are a favorite topic in Schaffhausen. Antimagnetic watches for pilots, the legendary Mark 11 model for the Royal Air Force, special watches for sailors, railway workers and submariners strengthened the reputation and glory of the world forge of ideas. After IWC gained airspace with its classic models for pilots, explored the underwater world with Aquatimer watches for professional divers, it actively masters the natural element with Inqenieur watches.
The IWC Inqenieur 500,000 A / m will go down in the history of watchmaking as a model that has turned upside down the traditional principle of protection against magnetic influence. The watch was tested on a tomograph and withstood a level of 3,700,000 A / m. To this day, this model holds the world record among anti-magnetic watches.
