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Pilot's Automatic Chronograph 41mm Bronze and Textile Watch, Ref. No. IW388109
The History
IWC Schaffhausen founder Mr Florentine Ariosto Jones was an American who set up his own high-tech factory in German-speaking Schaffhausen in 1868. From the outset, Mr Jones’ International Watch Company harnessed the skills of Swiss workers, the efficiency of US-made machinery and the hydropower of the Rhine. It was a key producer of military watches in WW2, and in the modern era has built on this heritage, combined with the high-end expertise that was revived in the 1980s.
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A River Runs Through It
An early investor in sustainable energy, or what passed for it back then, IWC founder Mr Florentine Ariosto Jones deliberately perched his first IWC factory on the banks of the Rhine. Giant paddles fed hydropower into permanently spinning shafts that ran the length of each workshop’s ceiling. The watchmakers’ lathes and mills all fed off them via belts.
The Collector’s Piece
By 1944, just 12 Swiss watchmakers, including IWC, had the job of turning out high-grade wristwear for the Allied infantry, according to the Ministry of Defence’s strict WWW (watch, wrist, waterproof) spec of high-legibility ruggedness. To collectors, assembling the complete “Dirty Dozen” suite is the holy grail. To IWC, WWW was the forerunner to its legendary Mark 11 of 1948, which remained in service to RAF pilots until 1981.
