IWC was founded in 1868 in Schaffhausen by the American engineer Florentino Aristo Jones. The company was one of the first to introduce mechanised and industrialised watch production. An IWC watch is a piece of living aviation history and during the early 20th century, there was a lack of reliable watches for the critical calculations a pilot needs to make.

IWC was a very early watch pioneer, specifically designed for these very demanding conditions. In 1950, IWC technical director Albert Pellaton invented and patented the automatic Pellaton clockwork/movement, a solution that significantly streamlined the transmission of power from the rotor. A solution that has since been used by the world's most prestigious watchmakers.