Early Swiss 14 Carat rose gold open faced lever watch Circa 1889

Rose gold lever watch by International Watch Company
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An early Swiss 14 Carat rose gold open faced pocket watch made for the American market, circa 1889. ¾ Plate movement, rare calibre 29, lever escapement, screw compensation balance. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute track and sunk subsidiary seconds. Engine turned case, a blank cartouche on the back, polished bezels.
Movement signed and numbered, case numbered.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 86 g
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Signed: International Watch Co
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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, Boston, America’s leading watchmaking company at the time. He established the company with the intention of combining 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 the town of 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 and laid 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.