A private visit to IWC’s Schaffhausen manufacture in September 2023 was more than a look inside a watch factory for Fratello contributor Henry Black: it brought him close to the place connected to his family’s history. His grandfather’s IWC Cal. 89 and his father’s Mark XV made the trip feel nearly 80 years in the making. The account is a personal report, not evidence that IWC’s production floor is generally open to visitors.
Why the visit mattered to Henry Black
In his October 28, 2023 feature for Fratello, Black frames the visit through three generations of his family. His grandfather Fritz Meister was born in Schaffhausen in 1918 and wore an IWC with a Cal. 89 movement. Black’s father later passed down a Mark XV to him in 2017. Against that background, seeing where IWC makes watches connected the objects he inherited with the town and the craft behind them.
The feature also recounts the accidental bombing of Schaffhausen on April 1, 1944, and its consequences for Black’s family and the town. Those details belong to his account; the historical figures and causal claims in it are not independently corroborated by the official sources cited here.
What the Schaffhausen manufacture brings together
IWC was founded in Schaffhausen in 1868, according to the company’s official history. Its Manufakturzentrum, opened in 2018, brings together work on movement components, manufacture movements and cases. IWC’s 2018 announcement gives the facility’s area as 13,500 square metres and says construction took 21 months. The same release describes the approach as a combination of advanced production methods and skilled workmanship.
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IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr connected that approach to the company’s origins: “Back in 1868, our founder Florentine Ariosto Jones was already pairing traditional watchmaking with advanced production methods. Ever since he established this approach to engineering, we have been systematically developing it; even today, we continue to combine skilled workmanship and sophisticated technology in our new Manufakturzentrum.”
What Black saw inside
Black describes an open, glass-fronted building with production areas for movements and cases. His September 2023 observations show the mix of machinery and handwork: components were machined and decorated, while watchmakers assembled movements and carried out finishing. These are observations from his private visit, not a promise that the production areas are accessible on a public visit today.
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Movement work and finishing
Among the memorable moments in Black’s report was trying perlage, a decorative finish made by applying overlapping circular graining to a surface. He used a test piece and a machine that staff told him dated from 1903. The detail captures the contrast at the heart of the visit: contemporary manufacture processes alongside traditional techniques and older equipment.
Case materials and machining
Black reports seeing case production involving steel, gold, titanium, platinum and bronze, as well as Ceratanium. His feature also gives the building’s dimensions as 140 metres long by 62 metres wide; those measurements are reported by Fratello and are not confirmed in IWC’s 2018 facility announcement.
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- 【Suitable for different watch covers】-- Watch back wrench is used for watch cases with grooves；watch case opening pry is used for the watch case with a pry opening；Screwdriver is used for watch case fixed by screws；tweezers are used to remove the battery.The use range of the watch back case opener is 15-55mm, and the drill bit spacing is set by rolling the adjusting wheel to fit the groove of your watch back.
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A reported accuracy figure
Black says staff told him watches were tested to an accuracy of +0–7 seconds per day. That is a figure reported from his visit, not a current official specification established by the sources here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Manufacture visit or public museum?
A private look at production and a visit to the IWC Museum are different experiences. IWC’s official museum page describes a public museum in Schaffhausen with more than 230 objects, an audio guide through the free IWC app, individual admission and private guided museum tours. It does not establish that the manufacturing floor is open to the public.
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| Experience | What is established | Access details |
|---|---|---|
| IWC Museum | More than 230 objects, according to IWC’s museum page. | Individual admission and private guided museum tours are listed by IWC. Check the current visitor page for hours, prices and availability. |
| Manufacture visit | Fratello documents a private visit in September 2023, including access to production areas. | Current public access, booking requirements and cost are not established. Contact IWC for current information. |
The museum page’s visitor logistics can change, so confirm arrangements directly with IWC before planning around them. A museum booking should not be taken as a factory-tour booking.
Quick Recap
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