Swiss heavy large early red gold IWC full hunter pocket watch Circa 1895

Pocket watch with a full hunter engine turned case
–
A heavy, large, early red gold IWC gold full hunter cased pocket watch, made by the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, circa 1895. This watch has a full hunter engine turned case crafted of 14 Carat red gold with a decoration engraved on the front, a  very well preserved white enamel dial with red gold hands and a movement with an IWC precision lever escapement, screwed gold chatons and a fine adjustment.
Plate and case signed.
–
Diameter: 53 mm
–
Weight: 111 g
–
Signed: IWC
–
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, Boston, America’s leading watchmaking company at the time. He established the company with the intention of combining 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 the town of 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 and laid 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 north east Switzerland: the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen.