The world’s leading manufacturer of Swiss Army watches is International Watch Company. The company was founded in 1868 by American engineer Florentine Ariosoto Jones.  Jones wanted to combine the craftsmanship found in Switzerland with modern engineering techniques — the result being the modern Swiss Army watch. 

Mens Swiss Army Watches

At first, the Swiss were distrusting of Jones.  They felt that his ideas would result in poor quality watches and they were wary that their wages might go down as a result.  The town of Schaffhausen had been left behind in the Industrial Revolution and  its’ natives were looking for work.  Johan 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.

In 1888 the factory got electricity, which thus added a new dimension of quality to Swiss Army watches. Shortly after World War I, the International Watch Company begin to add social benefits for its’ employees. The makers of Swiss Army watches now had health insurance, pensions,  housing, and their families had similar benefits.

The International Watch Company has consistently been at the forefront of Swiss Army watch technology. It was the first to use electronic batteries in their watches in the 1940’s, and they invested heavily in quartz movement,

The company fell on hard times in the mid 1970’s when gold prices soared.  The result was that it was no longer beneficial to export high quality Swiss Army watches to the United States and the rest of the world. Japan began to export cheap quartz clocks which were sad knock offs of the original Swiss Army watches.

Swiss Army Jewelry Watches

The company rebounded by bringing in top designers and engineers. The result was high quality, high fashion masterpieces made with expensive jewelry watches designed by the likes of Porsche.  Soon, Swiss Army watches were again renowned throughout the world and highly sought after by consumers.

Remarkable, the company has kept detailed records of every Swiss Army watch it has made since 1880.   Owners of a Swiss Army watch made by the International Watch Company can contact them and find out what parts went into their watch and when the watch was made.  The company claims that they still maintain parts for all of their Swiss Army watches, and that even the antique 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 high $1000 (U.S. Dollars).  Every year the company auctions off Swiss Army watches to benefit a school in Mali.

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