Swiss rose gold hunting cased lever pocket watch Circa 1912

Rose gold full hunter by IWC
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A Swiss 14 carat rose gold hunting cased lever pocket watch, circa 1912. Sold on December 11th, 1912 at Dohrmann Frères in Paris, France. The movement with a lever escapement, compensation balance with adjustment screws and Breguet spring, swan neck adjustment and all visible bearings screwed in a chaton. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions, sunk subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and blued spade & whip hands. An engine turned case with polished bezels, a decoratively engraved cartouche with monogram WL on the front, the inner cover engraved Ferdinand Mendte 8.3.87. Case and movement numbered. Comes with an Extract from the Archives.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 97 g
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Signed: International Watch Co Schaffhausen
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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. 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 northeast Switzerland: the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen.