IWC Schaffhausen is turning 150 next year. To celebrate this milestone, the company is set to unveil a special Jubilee collection at the Salon International de la
Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch fair in Geneva, comprising a total of 27 limited edition models from the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Da Vinci families. To mark this occasion, IWC is also launching its first-ever wristwatch to feature the original digital hours and minute display as it appeared on the Pallweber pocket watches back in 1884. The one aesthetic element all these time- pieces share is their imprinted dial in white or blue, an effect that is achieved by a process of applying several layers of lacquer, reminiscent of heritage enamelled finishes.
The American watchmaking pioneer Florentine Ariosto Jones founded the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen in 1868 with the aim of combining skilled Swiss craftsmanship with American manufacturing technology to create the best pocket watches of his time. “Our founder’s entrepreneurial spirit and his untiring quest for engineering excellence have left a lasting impression on IWC. To this day, our watches combine precision engineering with design that is as unusual as it is timeless. Our Jubilee collection revisits icons from the history of IWC and unifies them through a timeless design code to form a unique and impressive collection,” explains Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
The one thing all these watches have in common is their white or blue dial: “In a long and complex process, these dials are coated with up to 12 layers of high-quality lacquer, flat-polished, brushed and then imprinted several times. We drew our inspiration from the unusual aesthetic appeal of the enamelled dials used for the historic Pallweber watches,” explains Christian Knoop, Creative Director at IWC Schaffhausen. The watches with a white dial have blued hands, while those with a blue dial have rhodium-plated hands. The idea for the imprinted dials and blue hands came from the first Portugieser models, Reference IW325, from 1939. All the watches in the collection are fitted with black alligator leather straps. Each model also bears the Jubilee insignia “150 Years”, either as a medallion or as an engraving.
