IWC Yellow Gold Manual Wristwatch, circa 1950s / 1960s
View Similar Items
IWC Yellow Gold Manual Wristwatch, circa 1950s / 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1960
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:Seller: 595931stDibs: LU1974177663
IWC
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.
- Baume & Mercier Ladies Yellow Gold Diamond Manual Winding WristwatchBy Baume & MercierLocated in Dallas, TXBaume & Mercier Ladies 14k Yellow Gold & Diamond Watch - Manual winding; 17 jewel movement. 14k yellow gold case, with 2 bars with 5 diamonds on each, set in white gold, on either s...Category
Vintage 1950s Swiss Wrist Watches
Materials14k Gold
- Movado Yellow Gold Day-Date-Month Manual Wind WristwatchBy MovadoLocated in Dallas, TX14k gold case with ridged sides and Art Deco style teardrop stepped lugs (34mm diameter). 2-tone silvered dial with Arabic numerals; date and red seconds around outer edge; month and...Category
20th Century Wrist Watches
Materials14k Gold
- Chalet Ladies Vintage White gold Ruby Manual WristwatchLocated in Dallas, TXVintage Chalet Ruby Ladies Watch - Manual winding. 14K White gold ( 13 x 13 mm ) with .09 cts round brilliant cut. Near colorless.. White dial with bl...Category
Late 20th Century Swiss Wrist Watches
- Silver Niello Ladies Manual Winding WristwatchLocated in Dallas, TXNiello Ladies Manual Winding Wrist Watch - Manual. Steel case with checkered Niello pattern ( 26 mm) . White dial with Roman numerals. Niello checkered ...Category
20th Century Swiss Wrist Watches
- Pery Ladies Rose Gold Diamond Ruby Vintage Manual WristwatchLocated in Dallas, TXVintage Ladies Rose Gold (Diamond/Ruby) Pery watch - Manual winding. Rose gold ( 13 x 25 mm ). Rose gold dial with Roman numeral markers. Art deco rose gold...Category
Antique 19th Century Swiss Art Deco Wrist Watches
- Tissot 14 Karat Yellow Gold Manual Ladies WatchLocated in Dallas, TXTissot 14k Yellow Gold Manual Ladies Watch - Manual winding. 14K Yellow gold (16 x 7mm). White dial with stick and Arabic hour markers. 14K Yellow gold link...Category
20th Century Swiss Wrist Watches
- Zodiac Yellow Gold Moderne Style Manual Wristwatch, circa 1950sBy Zodiac Watch CompanyLocated in Long Beach, CAFACTORY / HOUSE: Zodiac Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Round / Moderne METAL / MATERIAL: 14kt Yellow Gold DIMENSIONS: Length 37mm X Diameter 32mm CIRCA: 1950's MOVEMENT / CALIBE...Category
Vintage 1950s Swiss Modernist Wrist Watches
- IWC 18k. yellow gold men's manual winding wristwatch, 1980'sBy IWCLocated in Braintree, GBIWC 18k. yellow gold men's manual winding wristwatch. Brand: International Watch Company Reference: 2754 Period: 1980 - 1990's Movement: Manual Winding Calibre: 423 Case material...Category
1990s Swiss Wrist Watches
MaterialsYellow Gold
- Piaget 18Karat Yellow Gold Wristwatch, circa 1960sBy PiagetLocated in Geneva, CHPiaget 18K yellow gold centered coral wristwatch. Piaget. Circa 1960. Length: 17.00 centimeters. Total weight: 48.23 grams. We do not guaran...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Retro Wrist Watches
MaterialsYellow Gold
- IWC Automatic Date 'Jumbo' Wristwatch. Yellow Gold. Circa 1970.By IWCLocated in Canterbury, GBOur very rare and attractive IWC automatic date features a ' jumbo ' case of 38mm inc IWC crown, of 18k yellow gold. Presented in wonderful condition giv...Category
Vintage 1970s Wrist Watches
MaterialsYellow Gold
- Mens IWC Schaffhausen 18k Gold Manual Wind Watch 1960s Vintage RA350By IWCLocated in Beverly Hills, CATimeless luxury, Men's IWC Schaffhausen solid 18k gold manual wind dress watch, c.1960s. Verified authentic by a master watchmaker. Gorgeous, IWC Schaffhausen signed dial, applied dagger and Arabic numeral hour markers, minute and hour hands, sweeping central second hand, hands and dial in excellent, vintage condition, minor patinas and discoloration due to age. Acrylic crystal. Solid 18k gold case measuring a large 37mm, with unique lugs, in pristine vintage condition, case no.1222035. Original IWC crown. 17-jeweled IWC cal...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold
- Mens IWC Schaffhausen 18k Rose Gold Manual Watch 1960s Vintage RA326By IWCLocated in Beverly Hills, CATimeless luxury, Men's large size IWC Schaffhausen solid 18k rose gold dress watch, c.1960s, unrefurbished. Verified authentic by a master watch...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold, Rose Gold