IWC watches from the International Watch Co were the realization of the combination of an American dream and Swiss technology. The watch brand came into existence when an American gentleman named Florentine Ariosto Jones pondered over producing watch movements in Switzerland and selling them in his native country, the US. This decision was based on the fact that Switzerland, impregnated with innumerable skilled watch making craftsmen, was a dearth of low wages at that time. Hence the business mind of Jones was able to judge the situation and take the most from the advantages available from the Swiss watch making laborers. In 1850, Jones came in contact with the watch manufacturer and industrialist Johann Heinrich Moser and the latter demonstrated his approval in Jones' idea. The idea took shape finally in the form of the International Watch Co in Schaffhausen in the north-eastern Switzerland. In 1869, F.A. Jones rented the first factory premises in an industrial building owned by J.H. Moser in Rheinstrasse. Very soon he had to rent further rooms in the "Oberhaus", one of the oldest buildings in Schaffhausen. By 1874 plans were already being made for a new factory. A site was purchased from Moser's hydroelectric company directly adjacent to the banks of the Rhine, the "Baumgarten", as it was called. Schaffhausen architect G. Meyer won the order to design and build the factory and about a year later, in spring 1875, the construction work was completed. At that point 196 people were working in the 45-meter-long factory, which could accommodate up to 300 workplaces. Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel, Chief Executive Officer and a machine manufacturer from Schaffhausen, took over the INTERNATIONALE UHRENFABRIK on 17 February 1880. This change marked the beginning of the story of INTERNATIONAL WATCH CO., which would last almost one hundred years and four generations, a family-owned company that would be known under various names. Fast forward to 1974 and a change of direction was necessary and this led to the adoption of a number of measures. IWC continued to uphold the values of traditional watch making but at the same time surprised the market with one innovation after another. It built up a line of top-quality pocket watches and, apart from setting up its own modern wristwatch and case manufacturing facilities began working closely with Ferdinand A. Porsche as an external designer. In 1978 the company launched its first compass watch and this was followed by the ground-breaking introduction of titanium as a material for use in watches and cases. In 1991 IWC director Günter Blümlein founded the LMH Group with its headquarters in Schaffhausen. With a 100% stake in IWC, 60% in Jaeger-LeCoultre and 90% in the Saxony-based watchmaking company of Lange & Söhne, the Group employed some 1440 persons. In July 2000, LMH was acquired by the Richemont Group.