60 AFAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
In the movement-assembly room, automa-
tion gives way to hands-on labor. This is where
all those parts are put together—a job still too
complex for computers. Before entering the
vast space, workers must pass through a blin-
dingly white room that looks like something
out of 2001: A Space
Odyssey, where
they change shoes—
Birkenstocks appear
to be a favorite—and
don white lab coats.
(Face powder is
verboten—“ because
dust particles in the
movement are a
big enemy in watchmaking,” says tour guide
Jutta Haeller.)
They then settle into one of the many
stations on the assembly line (anywhere from
10 to 30, depending on the watch being pro-
duced). Each specialist wears a loupe strapped
over one eye, pirate-style. As the movement
makes its way down the line, each specialist
painstakingly sets watch pins or oils compo-
nents. It takes as many as 30 people to build
connect workshop
even one beating heart, which may go on to
power models such as the Portugieser, one of
the brand’s most iconic timepieces.
Meanwhile, a flurry of activity is taking
place in the basement, where workers make
the cases that will hold the finished move-
ments by molding rods of metal—gold, steel,
platinum, bronze, titanium, or a newfangled
alloy known as ceratanium—into round or
tonneau forms. Then the movements and
cases are sent back to headquarters in central
Schaffhausen, where employees fasten on
hands and dials, mount the movements into
cases, and prepare the watches for their finalTake a train from
Zurich to Schaff-
hausen, usually a
40-minute ride,
and walk 10 minutes
to Baumgartens-
trasse 15. IWC is openMonday through
Friday, 9 a.m.–4
p.m. A full-day tour
begins at its city
center headquarters.
Visitors can register
for tours—whichinclude a guide and
gift bag—by email-
ing [email protected].
Individuals can join
tours held on select
Fridays (dependent
on bookings) for 150Swiss francs (about
US$151). Groups of
up to 12 people can
book their own tour
for 600 Swiss francs
(about US$605).
iwc.cominspection. The last step? Attaching straps.
In a world where digital devices are favored,
IWC has maintained its foothold by mixing
its traditional technology with more modern
designs, always with an eye to how those
designs will weather the years. For example,
the company’s new pilot watch, developed in
partnership with wristwatch publication and
e-commerce site Hodinkee, is a contemporary
take on an IWC classic.
“For us not to be too fashionable but to stay
at the forefront of innovation—it’s a careful
balancing act,” Grainger-Herr says. “We’re in
an industry dealing with eternity.”How to Visit the IWC Factory
Clockwise from left:
A watchmaker uses
the perlage technique
to decorate a move-
ment plate; employees
must change shoes
before entering sens-
itive areas; the new
manufacturing center.