THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CASEMAKING TO PRODUCE WATCHES IN STYLE
(THE STEEL)
BY MICHAEL FRIEDBERG
Hidden away in quiet corner near Schaffhausen Rhine Falls Neuhausen-rise in a small town, stood a little-known Swiss IWC factory, they are the most important part in producing watches in style .
While most of IWC’s watchmakers do their work on movements and assemble them in IWC’s main watch manufactory located on Baumgartenstrasse in the City of Schaffhausen, cases are produced in another facility tucked away on the Rhine.
Many might envision the art of watches in style making as involving a lone watchmaker toiling diligently, hunched with great concentration over his workbench, using what resembles tweezers and minute screwdrivers. With these intricate tools, talented workers put together a myriad of miniscule metal parts to fashion the ultimate timepiece. But, in fact, watches in style production involves a coming together of multiple craftsmen and as many disciplines. Each completed watch is in reality a synthesis of parts, including the all-important case. A finely made case not only protects the movement but also defines the design of the watch.
IWC is known for being a casemaker par excellence. Most of its watch cases, especially those that are complicated, are made at its new Neuhausen manufactory. The ground and second floors of this stand-alone facility are now primarily dedicated to making cases for IWC watches.
Few other watch companies make their own cases, and for good reason. The process is expensive and complicated, Because of the costs to create and maintain extensive machinery and to have expert personnel, most watch companies use outside suppliers for their cases. But controlling the case manufacturing process provides greater quality control and better flexibility in meeting production needs. It also separates a complete watches in style making company from others. A tour of IWC’s new facility shows that “in-house” production can have a special meaning when IWCproduces the case.
Christian Loss, Department Manager for Industrialization Cases, recently explained the process for manufacturing IWC cases. Christian unapologetically is not a watchmaker, but a mechanical engineer with background in the dental industry. Christian’s extensive knowledge of machinery and manufacturing operations has well-prepared him for mastering watch case production. He recently explained the finely-tuned processes and heavy-duty machinery.
In brief summary, raw metal becomes a case in a series of steps:
• turning
• milling
• engraving
• surface processing, which consists of polishing, sand blasting, coating, satinage and numerous additional steps in different sequences.
• assembly
Between each step there is inspection, which also includes measuring.What strikes the casual observer is the complexity of each task. The machines are sophisticated, and require precise computer programming. Each step involves a complex series of sub-steps. At every step and sub-step there is meticulous quality control, checking and rechecking. Producing a case at IWC becomes a true industrial achievement with measurable standards. Most cases are made of steel, and the steel usually arrives as raw material in bars. IWC uses a special steel alloy, made for IWC only after undergoing extensive tests to assure that it meets IWC’s quality standards, especially for non-corrosion and wear.
In addition to steel, to have the perfect watches in style, IWC also produces its own cases of gold, platinum and titanium at the Neuhausen factory. For precious metal cases, brass is used in the first instance, so the production can be tested before making an expensive mistake on the raw precious metal. All the casemaking machinery can be used to produce any of these metal cases. The main difference, aside from being especially careful with gold and platinum, is that heat in combination with titanium carries a much higher fire risk. Special precautions must be taken whenever titanium is fabricated.
