Ladies & Gentlemen,
Let us introduce you to the world of watchmaking and the IWC universe. A few days ago we had the opportunity to visit Schaffhausen City and to dive deep in the IWC world. IWC is a premium brand in the international luxury watch segment, well known for their top-quality products in haute horlogerie. Located in Schaffhausen city more than 1100 employees, including 120 eminently qualified watchmakers, are involved in the development, manufacture and distribution of perfect mechanical masterpieces.
IWC’s historic headquarters with the newly built extensions and the IWC museum
The company has made its name internationally through a passion for innovative solutions and technical inventiveness. As one of the world’s leading premium brands in the luxury watch segment, IWC creates masterpieces of haute horlogerie, which combine engineering and precision with exclusive design. The reputation of the brand from Schaffhausen is founded not least on the fact that its highly qualified employees master every step of the production process behind in-house movements and complications such as the minute repeater, the tourbillon and the perpetual calendar. For the designers and construction specialists at IWC, the claim to excellence, “Probus Scafusia” – “Craftsmanship made in Schaffhausen”, which was first formulated in 1903, is not only an enormous challenge; it is also their great passion.
Every IWC watch is professionally finished by masters of their trade. For they are the individuals whose trained eyes, nimble fingers and precision instruments put together IWC watches from a collection of single parts: each a fascinating showpiece of meticulous workmanship, functionality and design; each an outstanding example of the art of watchmaking at its very best.
Back in 1993, on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, IWC set up an exclusive museum in the attic of its headquarters – by this time a listed building – and became Switzerland’s first watch manufacturer with such a facility. In 2007, IWC trumped its past achievements with a totally newly designed watch museum on the converted ground floor of the main building. In spaces once given over to the manufacture of cases and watch parts, light-flooded rooms and display cases set off the exhibits to their best advantage. Production has been relocated to more spacious premises directly next door, making room for many more exhibits and a multimedia presentation documenting the company’s history.
The new home of IWC watches represents the world of an international luxury brand: together with the objects on display, it creates surroundings that are at once modern yet timeless, luxurious yet functional, and with every convenience the visitor could possibly wish for.
Over 230 carefully selected items bear witness to a manufacturer that started making a name for itself with unusually reliable quality and unmistakable, universally appealing design from the very beginning.
For IWC, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is all about the contribution they make towards improving society and the environment. They believe that embracing their ecological and social commitment will enable them to make a positive contribution to the well-being of our people, our community and our environment, and is ultimately the best way to guarantee their own long-term success. The company’s operations are therefore based on a holistic approach that combines supreme precision and exclusive design while ensuring the highest standards of sustainable industry practice.
IWC’s watch families – the Pilot’s Watches, Portuguese, Ingenieur, Aquatimer, Da Vinci and Portofino – look back on a long tradition. They attest the innovation of the engineers in Schaffhausen through four generations and embrace the broad range of the company’s watchmaking expertise: from robust watches for everyday use to professional sports watches and the complexities of haute horlogerie at its finest. These are joined by watch specialities such as the Grande Complication and the IWC Vintage Collection.
GDM team admits that visiting the IWC headquarters was a lifetime experience.
Learn more about IWC by visiting their official website here.