The "International Watch Co." was founded in Schaffhausen in 1868 by an American engineer from Boston, Florentine Ariosto Jones. The factory on the River Rhine - far from the watchmaking centres of western Switzerland - owes its name and its existence to this American. There he found a newly constructed hydroelectric plant to power his machines. - Ideal conditions for his passion to build perfect mechanical movements for an international market. And in Schaffhausen he found watchmakers whose profession already enjoyed a long tradition. Original pieces of chronometry appeared soon after the company was founded, such as the Pallweber pocket watch with a digital display, which is today sought after as a collector's piece. The superb craftsmanship, the training of its specialists, the renunciation of mass-production: all of these correspond to the old-established principles of IWC, to make watches in small numbers, but of the highest quality. This is also the reason why the company's watches last for decades if cared for properly, and why they have become today's collectors' rarities, which command collectors' prices throughout the world.