The headquarters of IWC Schaffhausen today stand on a site that used to be the orchard belonging to the All Saints monastery in Schaffhausen. The premises were built between 1874 and 1875 in the garden, directly adjacent to the banks of the Rhine, based on plans by the architect G. Meyer. It was the new factory belonging to an American watchmaker by the name of Florentine Ariosto Jones whose pioneering spirit led him to found the first and only watchmaking company in north-eastern Switzerland. Behind the building’s impressive façade, IWC has been producing watches that have established themselves as classics worldwide for more than 140 years. And now, the company is opening its doors to the general public, who can see and admire the work of the engineers from Schaffhausen. Back in 1993, on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, IWC set up an exclusive museum in the attic of its headquarters – by this time a listed building – and became Switzerland’s first watch manufacturer with such a facility.

Over 230 carefully selected items bear witness to a manufacturer that started making a name for itself with unusually reliable quality and unmistakable, universally appealing design from the very beginning.