Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased lever pocket watch Circa 2010

Gold full hunter by International Watch Co.
–
A Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased lever pocket watch, circa 2010. Bridge movement, lever escapement, Glucydur screw balance. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions and sunk subsidiary seconds. Plain case. Dial signed, case numbered, movement signed and numbered.
–
Diameter: 49 mm
–
Weight: 101 g
–
Signed: International Watch Co Schaffhausen Swiss
–
Reference 5414. IWC ref. 5414 was the last pocket watch made by International Watch Company and was only made on request. The selling price was € 9.900.
–
IWC’s motto is Probus Scafusia, a Latin phrase meaning ‘good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen’. The motto was established in 1903.
–
International Watch Company Schaffhausen (IWC) was founded in 1868 by Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841–1916), an American engineer and watchmaker from Boston, Massachusetts, who had been a director of E. Howard & Co. in Boston, America’s leading watchmaking company at the time. He established the company intending to combine modern engineering technology from the U.S. with the craftsmanship of the Swiss to manufacture high quality watches exclusively for the American market. Then, wages in Switzerland were relatively low although there was a ready supply of skilled watchmaking labour mainly carried out by people in their homes. Jones encountered opposition to his plans in French speaking Switzerland. People feared for their jobs and the work they did at home because he wanted to open a factory. In 1850, Schaffhausen was in danger of being left behind in the Industrial Age. At this stage, watch manufacturer and industrialist Johann Heinrich Moser built Schaffhausen’s first hydroelectric plant laying the cornerstone for future industrialization. He probably met Jones in Le Locle and showed great interest in his plans. Together, they laid the foundations for the only watch manufacturer in north east Switzerland: the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen.