IWC Schaffhausen- Marking A Milestone

In commemorating its 150 year history, Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has opened its doors to its latest Manufakturzentrum — designed partly by its multihyphenate CEO.

- Kames Narayanan

This year marks a momentous time in Swiss luxury watchmaker’s IWC Schaffhausen’s long-standing history as it counts its 150th year in the industry. In light of this important milestone, IWC inaugurated the IWC Manufakturzentrum, located on the outskirts of its birthplace Schaffhuasen and a ten-minute drive away from where its historic headquarters stand.

The formidable structure (constructed in just 21 months), distinguished by its contemporary floor-to-ceiling glass façade flanked by black frames and contrasting white roof, speaks of an impeccable design acumen way ahead of the times. Beyond its modern front, the IWC Manufakturzentrum moves the house forward in its fundamental manufacturing process.

Here, for the first time in IWC’s history, the production of in-house base watch movements, movement parts and watch cases come together under one roof — a shift that has been a long time coming. Prior to the launch of the IWC Manufakturzentrum, production was dispersed in six different locations across Schaffhuasen, essentially, translating to a less efficient use of human resources and time.

“The new building has given us the opportunity to configure our production processes precisely as is best for ensuring that they run optimally and produce perfect quality. So, for example, the entire process of creating value, from the raw material to the individual movement component and on to the finished manufacture movement, progresses in a logical order on a single storey,” says Andrea Voll, chief operating officer of IWC. “I have been dreaming of this ever since I started at IWC back in 2007,” he continues.