The foremost maker of Swiss Army watches, International Watch Company, was founded in 1868 by Florentino Ariosoto Jones. His concept was to incorporate modern engineering with Switzerland's indisputable craftsmanship, thus resulted in the modern Swiss Army watch.
At first, the Swiss had little trust in Jones. They thought that his ideas would lead to poor quality watches and they were wary that their income might decrease as a result. The town of Schaffhausen had been left behind in the Industrial Revolution and its' natives were looking for work.
Johann Heinrich Moser chose the city for the location of his first hydroelectric plant. Jones and Moser eventually met up and, together, built the first Swiss Army watch plant in the town.
Year 1888 marked improvements to the Swiss Army watches' quality due to the introduction of electricity to the company. International Watch Company started providing additional worker's benefit like health insurance, pension, housing plans and the like, after World War I.
Having invested on quartz movement, International Watch Company is the premier name of quality Swiss Army watches. They were also the first to produce Swiss Army watches that are electronic battery operated.
During the mid-70s, International Watch Company experienced down time because of a sudden increase of raw materials particularly gold. Another reason was that Japan manufactured cheap, low class quartz timepieces, a counterfeit of Swiss watches which led the IWC to ship lesser than the usual volume of their products.
International Watch Company reacted by employing outstanding designers and engineers with the likes of Porsche. This led to luxurious, high end fashion and jewellery watches which helped recapture the consumers' trust and appeal towards Swiss Army watches.
Most important of all, the company has kept detailed records of every Swiss Army watch it has made since 1880. Users of a Swiss Army watch made by the International Watch Company can approach them and find out what parts went into their watch and when the watch was manufactured. The company claims that they still keep parts for all of their Swiss Army watches, and that even the old ones from the 1800's can be repaired.
Today, the company's Swiss Army watches range in price from the low $100's to the expensive $1000 (U.S. Dollars). Every year the company auctions off Swiss Army watches to benefit a school in Mali.
At first, the Swiss had little trust in Jones. They thought that his ideas would lead to poor quality watches and they were wary that their income might decrease as a result. The town of Schaffhausen had been left behind in the Industrial Revolution and its' natives were looking for work.
Johann Heinrich Moser chose the city for the location of his first hydroelectric plant. Jones and Moser eventually met up and, together, built the first Swiss Army watch plant in the town.
Year 1888 marked improvements to the Swiss Army watches' quality due to the introduction of electricity to the company. International Watch Company started providing additional worker's benefit like health insurance, pension, housing plans and the like, after World War I.
Having invested on quartz movement, International Watch Company is the premier name of quality Swiss Army watches. They were also the first to produce Swiss Army watches that are electronic battery operated.
During the mid-70s, International Watch Company experienced down time because of a sudden increase of raw materials particularly gold. Another reason was that Japan manufactured cheap, low class quartz timepieces, a counterfeit of Swiss watches which led the IWC to ship lesser than the usual volume of their products.
International Watch Company reacted by employing outstanding designers and engineers with the likes of Porsche. This led to luxurious, high end fashion and jewellery watches which helped recapture the consumers' trust and appeal towards Swiss Army watches.
Most important of all, the company has kept detailed records of every Swiss Army watch it has made since 1880. Users of a Swiss Army watch made by the International Watch Company can approach them and find out what parts went into their watch and when the watch was manufactured. The company claims that they still keep parts for all of their Swiss Army watches, and that even the old ones from the 1800's can be repaired.
Today, the company's Swiss Army watches range in price from the low $100's to the expensive $1000 (U.S. Dollars). Every year the company auctions off Swiss Army watches to benefit a school in Mali.
About the Author:
Swiss Army bicycles have been in use for more than a century. To read more about the Swiss Army chronograph follow the link.
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