IWC Watches

 

IWC watches are exceptionally sought-after timepieces at auction, and sell incredibly well. The finesse of their movements, elegant styles and company heritage all fuel the demand at auction for these coveted timepieces, and we regularly sell IWC Schaffhausen watches in our quarterly Fine Jewellery & Watch Auctions. 

Florentine Ariosto Jones was the manager of E. Howard Watch and Clock Company in Boston, and had a brilliant entrepreneurial flair. His vision was to create a company that merged the technical brilliance and craftsmanship of the Swiss horologists with American cutting edge technology to produce fine timepieces for the American market. In 1868, Jones worked alongside Heinrich Mosser to harness the powers of the Rhine in order to power watchmaking machinery in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen. The company became known as the International Watch Company. 

In 1880, IWC Schaffhausen was taken over by the Rauschenbach family. It was under their leadership that IWC created the first pocketwatches with digital hour and minutes displays, and by 1899 their first wristwatch, a ladies watch with a 63 calibre pocket watch movement. 

Following the Johannes Rauschenbach-Schenk's death, Schaffhausen industrialist Ernst Jakob Homberger took over the company. Throughout the early 20th century, the firm sees the creation of two now iconic watch designs. The firm began to produce Pilot's watches in 1936, and three years later introduces the first IWC Portugese watch, one of the firm's most popular timepieces. Post-war and moving into the late 20th century, the firm continued to produce some of the finest and ultra functional watches in the world that are highly desirable at auction. 

Our specialist Fine Jewellery & Watch auctions are held 4 times a year and include the whole spectrum of jewellery, from modern and designer pieces to antique jewels, coloured gemstone jewellery to fine diamond rings. Our department is headed by Liz Bailey who is FGA and DGA qualified, with many years experience in the industry. We offer a free valuation service as well as a free collection service for items consigned to these auctions.

Contact our qualified specialist Liz Bailey to find out more.

 

< Back to Jewellery & Watches Directory

Next Auction

Fine Jewellery & Watches

Liz Bailey

MA, FGA, DGA

Department Specialist

+44 (0)1270 623878
liz@peterwilson.co.uk

Free Auction Valuation

We offer a free valuation service to anyone considering the sale of items through our auctions. Complete the form below and one of our specialists will get back to you promptly.

Fields marked * are required.

 

Images *

Drag and drop .jpg images here to upload, or click here to select images.


News & Articles

 

Jewellery News

Join our newsletter to stay up to date with auction news and articles.

 


 

Lot Alerts

Never miss out - sign up for our Lot Alerts and find the lots you're looking for.

Set up free alerts