Photo Report: Traveling Through Zürich and Schaffhausen with IWC

Just a few weeks ago I was graciously invited to fly to Switzerland to get a first glimpse of some of the new novelties this year from IWC. Now obviously I can’t speak to what I saw until the embargo lifts during Watches & Wonders, but the fun didn’t stop there. We had several exciting excursions while we were in both Zürich and Schaffhausen, and of course I had my camera with me to capture some snaps along the way. I felt like these images shouldn’t just live on my iPhone just for me, and maybe there might be someone out there who is interested in visiting either city and this might help push them to buy those plane tickets and get on over there!

Now some might think that the first stop on a press trip by a major luxury watch brand would be to see watches but you would be wrong. IWC knew how to kick off this tour just right by taking us straight to a chocolate factory. And not just any chocolate factory, but the home of Lindt Chocolate! Home to Switzerland’s largest chocolate museum, it was truly remarkable and I had a blast learning how this chocolate that I love so much is made. If you ever find yourself in Zürich this is a must stop. And yes, you get to try as much chocolate as you’d like!

With bellies full of chocolate we head to the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t aware of this museum prior to visiting Zürich but I’m so glad it was on the docket to visit as I was thoroughly impressed. Beyer Watches & Jewellery is the oldest watch retailer in the world and the marvelous museum was down below. I was blown away by some of the watches they had on exhibit. With clocks dating back several centuries, it was amazing to see how far watchmaking has come.

After a brisk walk around old town Zürich, we head to the IWC flagship boutique. Now I know a boutique visit might now sound too exciting, but I was pretty blown away with the architecture and design of this one. We were given a personal tour of the space which included an original Mercedes SL300 Gullwing. It’s a very interactive boutique and you could spend several hours there taking in IWC history. They offer some cool amenities like trading in your used IWC’s, a custom watch strap station, a watchmaker on site, and a really cool IWC branded bar to sip away while you’re looking for your perfect watch (or checking out that cool Mercedes). 

The last and final stop during our stay was in Schaffhausen visiting the IWC Manufacture. Built in 2018, the new space is amazing. The building has a mid-century style that fits in perfectly in the hills of Schaffhausen. Now while many of the press on the trip did get a private tour of the factory, they hold open tours to fans or owners of the brand and I highly recommend taking it if you’re ever in the area. I was quite impressed with the grandeur of the factory and how many staff they had on site. It truly takes a village of both people and machinery to create the IWC watches we’ve come to love. We made a quick lunch stop at the lovely Schlössli Wörth with an amazing view of the Rhine Falls. The rest of the tour is top secret until Watches & Wonders, but thankfully that’s just a few weeks away and you’ll have the first report of all releases from the show right here on Worn & Wound.