Unusual Swiss silver limited edition pocket watch Circa 1993

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An extremely rare and unusual Swiss silver limited edition pocket watch, 1993. The Scarabaeus Fuchs with the original certificate. Designed by Professor Ernst Fuchs. Made in a limited edition of 5000 pieces in the 1980s. No. 5/5000. The cover with a swirl design and Scarabaeus in the center, the artist’s signature on the inside and the case back shows a moon and stars. Silver sun shaped dial with black Arabic hour numerals and silver, handmade snake hands. A gilt movement, Geneva striping decoration, 19 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to five positions, Breguet balance spring, micrometre regulator. The dial, case and movement are signed.

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Diameter: 56 mm
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Signed: International Watch Co.  Schaffhausen
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Accompanied by an original certificate.
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Ernst Fuchs was born on February 13th, 1930, and he died on November 9th, 2015. Fuchs was a renowned Austrian painter and visionary architect of the late 20th century, a draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, stage designer, composer, poet and singer. He is further recognised as a founding figure and leading member of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. Known for his eccentricity and prolific output, he collaborated on numerous significant architectural and design projects across various artistic fields.
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In 1972, he acquired the derelict villa of Otto Wagner in Hütteldorf, which he restored and transformed. The villa was inaugurated as the Ernst Fuchs Museum in 1988. Fuchs studied sculpture with Emmy Steinbock in 1943, attended the St. Anna Painting School where he studied under Professor Fröhlich in 1944 and entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1945, where he began his studies under Professor Robin C. Anderson, later moving to the class of Albert Paris von Gütersloh.
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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.
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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 northeast Switzerland: the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen.