IWC Schaffhausen, founded in 1868 by American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones, is one of Switzerland's most prestigious watch manufactures. Located in Schaffhausen, in eastern German-speaking Switzerland—the only renowned watch manufacture in Eastern Switzerland—IWC (International Watch Company) has built its reputation on mechanical precision, functional robustness, and a distinctive minimalist design. Owned by the Richemont group since 2000, alongside Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and A. Lange & Söhne, IWC employs over 1,500 people and produces approximately 80,000 watches per year.
The Portugieser collection, born in 1939 at the request of two Portuguese importers who wanted a wristwatch with the precision of a marine chronometer, has become the company's icon. The Portugieser Chronograph, with its clean 41mm dial and emblematic sub-dials, is one of the most recognizable watches in luxury watchmaking. In 2026, IWC unveiled the new Portugieser Eternal Calendar, the first secular perpetual calendar in watchmaking history, capable of functioning correctly until the year 3999 without adjustment. This technical feat, protected by 7 patents, has been hailed by critics as one of the most significant watchmaking innovations of the decade.
The Pilot's Watch, another historic cornerstone of IWC, traces its origins to aerial navigation instruments of the 1930s. The Big Pilot's Watch, with its massive 43mm case, oversized conical crown (designed to be operated with pilot gloves), and ultra-legible dial, is an absolute benchmark in the aviator watch segment. IWC officially supplied navigation watches to the British Royal Air Force during World War II. In 2026, the brand launched the Pilot's Watch Performance Chronograph 41 in colored ceramic, combining the material's lightness with exceptional scratch resistance.
On a technological level, IWC distinguishes itself with in-house developed manufacture movements. The caliber 52000, with its 7-day power reserve and bidirectional Pellaton winding system in ceramic, is considered one of the finest automatic movements in the industry. The Schaffhausen manufacture also houses a testing center where each watch undergoes a battery of tests including resistance to shocks, water, magnetic fields, and temperature variations. IWC annually invests over 50 million Swiss francs in R&D, representing approximately 8% of its estimated revenue.
IWC is also committed to sustainable development and traceability. Since 2022, each watch comes with a digital passport based on blockchain, guaranteeing the authenticity and provenance of materials. The brand exclusively uses certified Fairmined gold and recycled titanium in several collections. In 2026, IWC announced its carbon neutrality across its entire production chain. The brand is also highly involved in cultural and sports patronage, being an official partner of Formula 1 (Mercedes-AMG) and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Foundation. The global luxury watch market, estimated at 55 billion Swiss francs in 2026, sees IWC consolidating its position in the top 10 most desirable watch brands worldwide.
