One of Switzerland’s major luxury watch companies was started by an American who saw the potential of bringing Switzerland’s superb watchmaking into the modern age through industrialized manufacturing and high-precision interchangeable parts. The New Hampshire–born watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841–1916), who founded International Watch Company — known today as simply IWC — in 1868, was interested in “combining all the excellence of the American system of mechanism with the more skillful hand labor of the Swiss.”
Setting up the company with another American watchmaker, Charles Kidder, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Jones used hydropower from the River Rhine for his plant’s machinery. Rethinking watch design would lead to one of IWC’s early successes: the Pallweber pocket watch. Based on an 1883 patent by Austrian watchmaker Josef Pallweber, the watch employed numbered disks for jumping hour and minute displays, making it a pioneer in digital timekeeping.
After Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel took over the watch manufacturer in 1880, four generations of his family led IWC into the 20th century. In 1905, Ernst Jakob Homberger and his brother-in-law Carl Jung — the famed Swiss psychiatrist — acquired IWC. Homberger bought out Jung’s holdings in 1929, and in the 1930s, the company introduced pilot watches, which were particularly robust and aimed solely at the civil aviation industry. These durable wristwatches were designed specifically to remain operational during extreme temperature shifts. (As blue watch dials are particularly hot right now, IWC's blue-dial Big Pilot is having a moment.)
The company still operates alongside the river where it was founded, having gained an international reputation over the past 150 years for its elegant designs and expert craftsmanship. Vintage IWC watches are prized by collectors — of whom there are many these days — and while the company continues to guard its attention to detail and quality, it has pushed its classic designs forward with modern innovation intended to stand the test of time.
IWC’s 2013 Ingenieur watch collection, with its precision based on an inventive constant-force mechanism, looked back to a 1955 Ingenieur model that featured a durable soft-iron inner cage as well as a 1976 update by leading Swiss watch designer Gérald Genta that encased its mechanism in a sleek steel case. IWC has also had a recent push toward sustainability, designing watches that are made to last a lifetime and beyond and earning the highest environmental ranking of any Swiss watch company in a 2018 report published by the World Wide Fund for Nature Switzerland (WWF).
Find vintage IWC wristwatches, Art Deco–style pocket watches and more on 1stDibs.
$11,000Sale Price|23% Off
18K Yellow Gold & Natural Diamond IWC Ladies Watch
By IWC
Located in Lexington, KY
This elegant ladies' timepiece was made by the renowned International Watch Co. (IWC) in striking 18k yellow and white gold with bright white natural diamonds. This watch is a striki...
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Mauboussin Diamond Link Bracelet 18K Yellow Gold
By Mauboussin
Located in Dallas, TX
Mauboussin Diamond Link Bracelet in 18K Yellow Gold. The bracelet features approximately 2ctw of round diamonds. 6.5" Length, 0.25" Wide, 25.4 Grams
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
18K Yellow Gold and Diamond Bracelet
Located in Chicago, IL
This fun geometric designed bracelet contains 108 top quality round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 11.86 carats total. In an open work design and beautifully crafted i...
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
18k Yellow Gold Bracelet
Located in New York, NY
Meticulously crafted in radiant 18k yellow gold, this exceptional estate link bracelet seamlessly blends timeless sophistication with a bold, modern aesthetic. Featuring beautifully ...
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 18k Yellow Gold Bracelet with Diamonds and Peek-A Boo Swiss Geneva Watch
Located in Boston, MA
This extraordinary vintage piece is a true masterclass in luxury craftsmanship and design innovation. Handcrafted from heavy 18K yellow gold, the panther-style bracelet features meticulously corrugated links that exude a powerful, textured elegance. Interspersed throughout the bracelet are 28 white gold sections, each one expertly set by hand with four round brilliant diamonds, totaling an impressive 2.80 carats of scintillating brilliance. The diamonds, graded G-H in color and VS in clarity, are a testament to the exceptional quality and attention to detail in this piece's construction. Designed to fit a wrist size of 6 to 6.5 inches, the bracelet strikes a perfect balance between opulence and wearability. In addition to the true showstopper of this bracelet, is the ingenious "peek-a-boo" feature, revealing a hidden Swiss Geneva watch...
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
18k Yellow Gold 1970s Multirow Diamond Bracelet
Located in New York, NY
This 18k yellow gold bracelet from the 1970s is a true masterpiece of jewelry craftsmanship. The twisted rows of wire gold give the bracelet a unique texture and the addition of roun...
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
18K Gold Malachite Four Clover Natural Diamond Bracelet
Located in New York, NY
This 18K yellow gold malachite natural diamond clover bracelet is a dazzling and refined accessory that seamlessly blends classic elegance style. Crafted from solid 18-karat yellow g...
White Diamond, Malachite, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Victorian gemstone diamond 18k yellow gold bracelet
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This charming Victorian gemstone and diamond bracelet is a beautiful antique piece from the 1890’s, full of color, romance, and old-world character. Featuring 7 oval cut gemstones, i...
Amethyst, Diamond, Emerald, Morganite, Peridot, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold...
Diamond Ruby 18k Yellow Gold Flower Bracelet
Located in New York, NY
This classic vintage bracelet is crafted in 18k yellow gold and set with brilliant-cut round G-H VS1-VS2 diamonds weighing an estimated 1.0 carats and cabochon round rubies weighing ...
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage Estate French H. Stern 18K Yellow Gold Ladies Mid Century Watch
By H. Stern
Located in Great Neck, NY
Beautiful Vintage Estate French H. Stern 18K Yellow Gold Ladies Mid Century Watch. This vintage French H. Stern ladies watch is such a beautiful piece of mid-century design. It’s cra...
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Diamond Bracelet by Fiessler 18K Yellow & White Gold
By Louis Fiessler
Located in La Jolla, CA
Fine Quality 18K Yellow and White Gold Diamond Bracelet by Louis Fiessler Beautifully crafted Diamond Bracelet features nine Diamond sections containing 90 White Round Brilliant Di...
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Edwardian diamond 18k yellow gold platinum bracelet
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Slim, polished bars of 18k yellow gold link together in a fine chain for this Edwardian bracelet, meeting at a lacy, scroll-worked plaque set with 19 old mine and rose cut diamonds t...
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
18K Yellow Gold and Diamond Link Bracelet
Located in Monte Carlo, MC
This elegant bracelet, offered by Claris)-A, is composed of articulated oval links in yellow gold, forming a fluid and rhythmic design that sits naturally on the wrist. Each link is ...
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold