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Watchfinder.co.uk Ltd, PO BOX 1368 Maidstone, ME14 9WE

Company no. 04524723

vat no787 562 376

Registered Office Address: 15 Hill Street, London, W1J 5QT
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IWC

Established 1868

Since its inception in 1868, IWC has been cementing its motto of 'Probus Scafusia', meaning 'good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen'. Modern IWC watches undergo rigorous development and extensive testing, using advanced electric discharge machines, to ensure these standards are still adhered to over a century later. Read more

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IWC

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  1. IWC
IWC Certified Service Centre
Certified Service Centre
Pilot's Watches Watches 4250 Pilot's Watches Watches 28140 Pilot's Watches Watches 8645 Pilot's Watches Watches 36400
Pilot's Watches Watches 28140 Pilot's Watches Watches 8645 Pilot's Watches Watches 36400
Pilot's Watches [63]
Portuguese Watches 2028 Portuguese Watches 2034 Portuguese Watches 25830 Portuguese Watches 18197
Portuguese Watches 2034 Portuguese Watches 25830 Portuguese Watches 18197
Portuguese [76]
The Aquatimer Watches 14876 The Aquatimer Watches 26014 The Aquatimer Watches 14920 The Aquatimer Watches 14926
The Aquatimer Watches 26014 The Aquatimer Watches 14920 The Aquatimer Watches 14926
The Aquatimer [33]
Portofino Watches 27041 Portofino Watches 21491 Portofino Watches 2061 Portofino Watches 31071
Portofino Watches 21491 Portofino Watches 2061 Portofino Watches 31071
Portofino [47]
Big Pilot's Watches 4325 Big Pilot's Watches 6107 Big Pilot's Watches 15411 Big Pilot's Watches 31094
Big Pilot's Watches 6107 Big Pilot's Watches 15411 Big Pilot's Watches 31094
Big Pilot's [23]
Ingenieur Watches 16685 Ingenieur Watches 27581 Ingenieur Watches 33176 Ingenieur Watches 8639
Ingenieur Watches 27581 Ingenieur Watches 33176 Ingenieur Watches 8639
Ingenieur [36]
Da Vinci Watches 6145 Da Vinci Watches 30154 Da Vinci Watches 6146 Da Vinci Watches 36014
Da Vinci Watches 30154 Da Vinci Watches 6146 Da Vinci Watches 36014
Da Vinci [7]
Vintage Collection Watches 8655 Vintage Collection Watches 8658 Vintage Collection Watches 8656 Vintage Collection Watches 44167
Vintage Collection Watches 8658 Vintage Collection Watches 8656 Vintage Collection Watches 44167
Vintage Collection [8]
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New Arrivals

IWC Portofino Chronograph IW391007
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IWC
Portofino Chronograph
IW391007
£3,800
Box: Yes Papers: Yes
Year: 2014
IWC Pilots Classic IW502702
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IWC
Pilots Classic
IW502702
£13,600
Box: Yes Papers: Yes
Year: 2020
Manufacturer's Warranty
IWC Portuguese Chrono IW371447
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IWC
Portuguese Chrono
IW371447
£5,450
Box: Yes Papers: Yes
Year: 2015
IWC Mark XVII IW326504
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IWC
Mark XVII
IW326504
£3,400
Box: Yes Papers: Yes
Year: 2014
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IWC History

Some watch brands have a certain inimitable style, and the International Watch Company is one of them. Distinguished by striking designs and unmatchable quality, IWC watches have held a special place in the hearts of watch enthusiasts since the company’s inception in 1868.

Fresh from his directorship at the American watch company E. Howard and Co., engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones set about opening a factory in Switzerland with the intention of combining American engineering with Swiss precision. It would be the basis of his new company, IWC. He immediately hit a snag when the watchmakers in the French-speaking areas of Switzerland—who traditionally worked from home—opposed his decision to open a factory.

White coal pioneer Johann Heinrich Moser began discussions with Florentine to open the factory in the German-speaking area of Switzerland instead, specifically in Schaffhausen. Johann had brought industrialisation to Schaffhausen with his hydro-electric plant, and the power it produced was perfect for the machines Florentine needed to make watches. In 1868, under the power of the River Rhine, IWC was born.

The company came on to the watchmaking scene with a bang, introducing the world’s first digital mechanical pocket watches in 1885. The Pallweber had windows cut into the dial, through which rotating discs displayed the hours and minutes. The public began to take notice of the watchmaker immediately.

The brand continued developing pocket watch movements to make them smaller and more compact for use in ladies’ pocket watches. These movements ended up in the first IWC watches that could be worn on the wrist, produced towards the end of the 19th century. The in-house Calibre 64 movement was particularly favoured for its crown and sub-seconds arrangement.

It wasn’t until 1944 that the next significant advancement occurred at the company, when Albert Pellaton started his career as Technical Director. The first of his developments was a soft iron core in the case of the brand’s pilots’ watch, which protected the movement from magnetic fields. Next came the Pellaton automatic winding system, an ingenious pawl-operated design that allowed a movement to be wound in both directions while simultaneously providing exceptional shock resistance. It remains a patented feature in the company’s watches to this day.

But it’s not just the final product that demonstrates the brand’s level of quality: it’s the journey it takes to get there. Modern IWC watches undergo rigorous development and testing using advanced electric discharge machines and computer-aided design. The manufacture’s parts can be made with tolerances as little as 0.001 millimetres—one hundredth the width of a human hair. This applies to all of the brand’s models: the Pilots’ Watches, the Portofino, the Ingenieur, the Aquatimer, the Da Vinci and the Portuguese included.

It would be safe to assume that components manufactured to this level of detail would be delicate, but IWC watches refuse to obey the laws of physics. Each development watch undergoes a rigorous set of tests, one of which being the ‘chapuis extreme’, a test that involves the watch being shaken 264,000 times in a box at forces of up 500 G.

It is therefore fitting for the brand, whose quality and technology are unmatched by others, to have the motto ‘Probus Scafusia’—meaning ‘good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen’. Perhaps that is an understatement.

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Watchfinder.co.uk Ltd, PO BOX 1368 Maidstone, ME14 9WE
Company no. 04524723  |  vat no 787 562 376
Registered Office Address: 15 Hill Street, London, W1J 5QT
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