Swiss 18 carat gold open faced lever watch with chain Circa 1915

Gold gentlemen’s watch by IWC
–
A Swiss 18 carat gold open faced pocket watch, circa 1910-1920. The movement with a lever escapement. White enamel dial with Roman hour  numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds with baton markers at 6 o’clock and the original spade & whip hands. A polished case, monogrammed on the back. Dial signed, movement signed and numbered, case numbered. Comes with a watch chain.
–
Diameter: 45 mm
–
Total weight: 50.5 g
–
Signed: International Watch Co Schaffhausen Swiss made
–
Reference No. 5201.
–
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.