Swiss 18K yellow gold hunting cased lever watch Circa 1910

Gold full hunter by International Watch Co.
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A Swiss 18 carat yellow gold hunting cased lever pocket watch, circa 1910. This IWC pocket watch features a distinctive yellow gold soap box case, the cover monogrammed with W.S. It contains a mechanical winding movement with a lever escapement, signed IWC Probus Scafusia. The watch has an enamel dial with black Arabic numerals, an outer minutes track with Arabic five minute numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial, and gold spade hands. The case back is signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 52 mm.
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Weight: 90.2 g
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Signed: IWC Probus Scafusia
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It is very unusual to find an International Watch Co. watch in an 18 carat gold case, particularly one in such excellent condition as this timepiece.
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IWC’s motto is Probus Scafusia, a Latin phrase meaning ‘good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen’. The motto was established in 1903.
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The 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 previously served as 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 industrialisation. 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.