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The Transatlantic Crossing with IWC Schaffhausen
- From Boston USA to Schaffhausen Switzerland
I am pleased to share with all of you a long journey, timetravel and of course very fine watches.
Please enjoy
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1868 was an important year!
For roman addicts, they could rejoice in writing the date with their quill pens as “MDCCCLXVIII”.
Predecessor to Gatsby hair Gel Model
Historians had a field day in that year when in Asia the Japanese Meiji Emperor declared the "Meiji Restoration" (his own restoration to full power) against the supporters of the Tokugawa Shogun. Further west, the War of the Triple Alliance was taking place under the command of Brazilian Army commander Luís Alves de Lima e Silva. In Europe, science buffs were about be thrilled as genius German chemist Fritz Harber was born in this year. His ‘Harber process’ was a cornerstone in the industrialization of the world and this brought him the Nobel Prize in 1918.
For perpertual calendar addicts, this year in particular was a leap year. And for IWC addicts – this is where the journey begins. 1868 A.D.
A Perpetual Calendar from IWC should help you keep track of this long journey
In the 1800s, modern watchmaking began on the East coast of the USA. The US could not compete with the Swiss due to the fact that their workforce was more expensive but the industrial revolution and the application of machines in watchmaking would close this price gap in time. The American engineers wanted to churn out production line watches with competitive price points and thru automation (much like the Springfield Armory churning out guns for the US Army) they finally achieved this in the 1860’s. Prior to that, most of the watches in the US were imported.
Florentine Ariosto Jones was at that time working for a US watch making company, the F. Howard Watch & Clock Company. F. Howard & Co. produced approximately 30,000 high quality watches between 1861 and 1871. In those days, no company was able to produce more than 3,000 high quality watches per year. The U.S. was simply lacking the skills to produce these delicate time instruments.
A frustrated FA Jones then thought of a solution - Swiss watch making skills with the excellence of the American manufacturing system to produce high volumes of high quality watches.
FA Jones Street Sign today
Jones went directly to Schaffhausen. The purpose of his visits to the western part of Switzerland was establishing a network in Swiss watch making. At the time, Schaffhausen was part of the “heart of the Swiss industrialization”, including Zürich, Winterthur, and z.Gallen. Railways were established and sufficient energy sources and land was available. The Moserdamm was completed in 1866, something that must have been known to Jones.
Rhein falls in Schaffhausen
Jones arrived in 1868 in Schaffhausen together with his partner Louis Kidder. They prepared the groundwork in 1868 and 1869. They officially settled in 1869. It took four years to establish the company. Jones had to design his top quality movement, he needed the space (for the machinery), and had to hire and train the staff (to work on the machines and assembling the watches). He also had to establish connections to get the machines and the build the infrastructure.
During the period 1868-1871 production was done by hand (1-1.5 watches per person per month) while the machines were designed, build and imported. Focus was on excellence and experimentation.
In 1870/1871 attention switched to getting staff and space. Space a the Kammgarn Factory and in the town center’s Oberhaus was rented. Staff was trained in using the machinery.
In 1871 the International Watch Co. was established in New York City at Maiden Lane. This company focused on sales. The construction of machinery and production of movements took place in Schaffhausen while some fine parts were produced in Le Locle. The years 1871-1874 focused on increasing production by hiring more space, building more machines, and hiring more staff.
In 1874 another stock corporation was established to finance the expansion. In 1874 Jones communicated his goal of producing 10,000 high quality
movements per year, which seemed very ambitious given the fact that E. Howard Watch & Clock Company was not able to produce more than 3,000
watches per year during Jones’ years of employment.
Did Jones reach his goal? No. The 1878 inventory records show 25,000 produced movements. However, Jones was almost there in when approximately 850 watches were produced in December 1874 (the records show a total production of approximately 7,000 watches in 1874).
IWC Cal 52 pocket Watch
The company’s bankruptcy in 1875 and consequently Jones’ leave was caused by the economic crisis in the US of 1873/1874 and the continuing import duties could be toned down somewhat.
Obviously the crisis did not help in competing in the American market. However, Jones was still supported by the Board. However, Jones had increased the workforce to 190 by 1875, enough to achieve his goal of producing 10,000 movements. He found a new sales partner in Le Locle and managed to increase the movement variety from 8 to 28.
In late 1875 Jones leaves the company. The high cost and lack of income, due to the crisis and import duties in the US combined with a lack of trust by the Board did not leave him any other choice. Perhaps Jones’ role as a pioneer was a factor as well. Not a lot is known what happened to Jones after he left.
The company (now owned by the Schaffhausen Handelsbank) hired another American, Seeland who changed the direction of the company radically and focused on producing lower quality movements. Probably Seeland was also not capable to meet the production goals, set by the Board. J. Rauschenbauch, a former shareholder, buys the manufacture in 1880 and revitalizes FA Jones’ ideas. We all know the outcome today ……..
It could be concluded that Jones succeeded in achieving his dream of producing high quality movements in higher numbers than any other company. He leaves a fully equipped factory. He brought together the Swiss art of watch making and the American manufacturing excellence. Jones was the first American who brought the idea of applying machinery in watch making in Switzerland. After 1870 machines were increasingly used in Switzerland.
However, it took about a few years for the Swiss Watch to catch up with the U.S.A., Step by step Swiss watch making established it position watch manufacturing. Productivity gains, interchange-ability of parts, and the standardization steadily brought the Swiss watch industry to its dominant position. Mass production began at the turn of the 20th century.
IWC never focused on mass production.
The Jones' Arrow - Elongated index tail adjustment
Jones himself was a very good watchmaker. The first pocket watches produced in Schaffhausen with his own calibre and possessed a wealth of advanced and unique technical features: a bimetallic cut balance to compensate for temperature fluctuation, a hand-bent Breguet balance spring, a three-quarter plate and a precision adjustment mechanism with an elongated index tail.
FA Jones’ product philosophy “Probus Scafusia” meaning 'Good, Solid Craftsmanship from Schaffhausen', is still the company motto till this day. IWC Chief Executive Officer Georges Kern comments that Florentine Ariosto Jones was "not only a courageous visionary and entrepreneur," he "was also a man with a highly developed sense of quality." This is the reason why IWC watches today still carry the stamp Probus Scafusia.
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Probus Scafusia Photo by Harry Tan from www.watchinghorology.com
Personally (and perhaps to other watch collectors); F.A. Jones remains an example of entrepreneurship, dedication, going-for-the-best, quality and innovation. You see these same hallmarks in the product we call Audi too…but that’s another story for another day!
Delorean + Flux Capacitor = Will travel
So for now we get into a special car that no Ferrari, Lamborghini or even LED headlight equipped Audi R8 can top. The Flux capacitor equipped De-Lorean DMC-12. This DeLorean with the help of Doc Emmett Brown’s invention and 1.2 Jigawatts of power bring us fast forward 140 years to present day 2008.
- From Boston USA to Schaffhausen Switzerland
I am pleased to share with all of you a long journey, timetravel and of course very fine watches.
Please enjoy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1868 was an important year!
For roman addicts, they could rejoice in writing the date with their quill pens as “MDCCCLXVIII”.
Predecessor to Gatsby hair Gel Model
Historians had a field day in that year when in Asia the Japanese Meiji Emperor declared the "Meiji Restoration" (his own restoration to full power) against the supporters of the Tokugawa Shogun. Further west, the War of the Triple Alliance was taking place under the command of Brazilian Army commander Luís Alves de Lima e Silva. In Europe, science buffs were about be thrilled as genius German chemist Fritz Harber was born in this year. His ‘Harber process’ was a cornerstone in the industrialization of the world and this brought him the Nobel Prize in 1918.
For perpertual calendar addicts, this year in particular was a leap year. And for IWC addicts – this is where the journey begins. 1868 A.D.
A Perpetual Calendar from IWC should help you keep track of this long journey
In the 1800s, modern watchmaking began on the East coast of the USA. The US could not compete with the Swiss due to the fact that their workforce was more expensive but the industrial revolution and the application of machines in watchmaking would close this price gap in time. The American engineers wanted to churn out production line watches with competitive price points and thru automation (much like the Springfield Armory churning out guns for the US Army) they finally achieved this in the 1860’s. Prior to that, most of the watches in the US were imported.
Florentine Ariosto Jones was at that time working for a US watch making company, the F. Howard Watch & Clock Company. F. Howard & Co. produced approximately 30,000 high quality watches between 1861 and 1871. In those days, no company was able to produce more than 3,000 high quality watches per year. The U.S. was simply lacking the skills to produce these delicate time instruments.
A frustrated FA Jones then thought of a solution - Swiss watch making skills with the excellence of the American manufacturing system to produce high volumes of high quality watches.
FA Jones Street Sign today
Jones went directly to Schaffhausen. The purpose of his visits to the western part of Switzerland was establishing a network in Swiss watch making. At the time, Schaffhausen was part of the “heart of the Swiss industrialization”, including Zürich, Winterthur, and z.Gallen. Railways were established and sufficient energy sources and land was available. The Moserdamm was completed in 1866, something that must have been known to Jones.
Rhein falls in Schaffhausen
Jones arrived in 1868 in Schaffhausen together with his partner Louis Kidder. They prepared the groundwork in 1868 and 1869. They officially settled in 1869. It took four years to establish the company. Jones had to design his top quality movement, he needed the space (for the machinery), and had to hire and train the staff (to work on the machines and assembling the watches). He also had to establish connections to get the machines and the build the infrastructure.
During the period 1868-1871 production was done by hand (1-1.5 watches per person per month) while the machines were designed, build and imported. Focus was on excellence and experimentation.
In 1870/1871 attention switched to getting staff and space. Space a the Kammgarn Factory and in the town center’s Oberhaus was rented. Staff was trained in using the machinery.
In 1871 the International Watch Co. was established in New York City at Maiden Lane. This company focused on sales. The construction of machinery and production of movements took place in Schaffhausen while some fine parts were produced in Le Locle. The years 1871-1874 focused on increasing production by hiring more space, building more machines, and hiring more staff.
In 1874 another stock corporation was established to finance the expansion. In 1874 Jones communicated his goal of producing 10,000 high quality
movements per year, which seemed very ambitious given the fact that E. Howard Watch & Clock Company was not able to produce more than 3,000
watches per year during Jones’ years of employment.
Did Jones reach his goal? No. The 1878 inventory records show 25,000 produced movements. However, Jones was almost there in when approximately 850 watches were produced in December 1874 (the records show a total production of approximately 7,000 watches in 1874).
IWC Cal 52 pocket Watch
The company’s bankruptcy in 1875 and consequently Jones’ leave was caused by the economic crisis in the US of 1873/1874 and the continuing import duties could be toned down somewhat.
Obviously the crisis did not help in competing in the American market. However, Jones was still supported by the Board. However, Jones had increased the workforce to 190 by 1875, enough to achieve his goal of producing 10,000 movements. He found a new sales partner in Le Locle and managed to increase the movement variety from 8 to 28.
In late 1875 Jones leaves the company. The high cost and lack of income, due to the crisis and import duties in the US combined with a lack of trust by the Board did not leave him any other choice. Perhaps Jones’ role as a pioneer was a factor as well. Not a lot is known what happened to Jones after he left.
The company (now owned by the Schaffhausen Handelsbank) hired another American, Seeland who changed the direction of the company radically and focused on producing lower quality movements. Probably Seeland was also not capable to meet the production goals, set by the Board. J. Rauschenbauch, a former shareholder, buys the manufacture in 1880 and revitalizes FA Jones’ ideas. We all know the outcome today ……..
It could be concluded that Jones succeeded in achieving his dream of producing high quality movements in higher numbers than any other company. He leaves a fully equipped factory. He brought together the Swiss art of watch making and the American manufacturing excellence. Jones was the first American who brought the idea of applying machinery in watch making in Switzerland. After 1870 machines were increasingly used in Switzerland.
However, it took about a few years for the Swiss Watch to catch up with the U.S.A., Step by step Swiss watch making established it position watch manufacturing. Productivity gains, interchange-ability of parts, and the standardization steadily brought the Swiss watch industry to its dominant position. Mass production began at the turn of the 20th century.
IWC never focused on mass production.
The Jones' Arrow - Elongated index tail adjustment
Jones himself was a very good watchmaker. The first pocket watches produced in Schaffhausen with his own calibre and possessed a wealth of advanced and unique technical features: a bimetallic cut balance to compensate for temperature fluctuation, a hand-bent Breguet balance spring, a three-quarter plate and a precision adjustment mechanism with an elongated index tail.
FA Jones’ product philosophy “Probus Scafusia” meaning 'Good, Solid Craftsmanship from Schaffhausen', is still the company motto till this day. IWC Chief Executive Officer Georges Kern comments that Florentine Ariosto Jones was "not only a courageous visionary and entrepreneur," he "was also a man with a highly developed sense of quality." This is the reason why IWC watches today still carry the stamp Probus Scafusia.
Probus Scafusia Photo by Harry Tan from www.watchinghorology.com
Personally (and perhaps to other watch collectors); F.A. Jones remains an example of entrepreneurship, dedication, going-for-the-best, quality and innovation. You see these same hallmarks in the product we call Audi too…but that’s another story for another day!
Delorean + Flux Capacitor = Will travel
So for now we get into a special car that no Ferrari, Lamborghini or even LED headlight equipped Audi R8 can top. The Flux capacitor equipped De-Lorean DMC-12. This DeLorean with the help of Doc Emmett Brown’s invention and 1.2 Jigawatts of power bring us fast forward 140 years to present day 2008.
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