Swiss rose gold hunting cased lever pocket watch Circa 1900

Rose gold full hunter by IWC
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A Swiss 14 carat rose gold hunting cased lever pocket watch, circa 1900. Sold on November 10th, 1913 by Negri in Turin, Italy. The movement with a lever escapement. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and rose gold Louis XIV hands. The engine turned case with polished bezels and a decoratively engraved, blank cartouche on the front, bow and winding crown are gold plated. Case and movement numbered. Comes with an Extract from the Archives.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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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.