IWC was one of 19 exhibitors at the recent 21st Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), the premier trade-only showcase held in Geneva and attended by 12,000 visitors and 1,000 journalists. This year’s event was decidedly upbeat – with 60% attendance from Europe, 20% from Asia, 12% from the Americas, and 8% from the Middle East.

At the high end of the IWC collection, priced at $350,000 and considered the most complex mechanical wristwatch ever made, is the Il Destriero Scafusia named for the noble steeds used by jousting knights in the Middle Ages. Only 125 pieces were slated to be made when production began in 1993.

Although most celebrated Swiss watch companies were founded by Germans, Greeks, Italians or French, IWC was founded by an American, Florentine Ariosto Jones who wanted to open a factory in Switzerland to benefit from lower wages and the precision of Swiss movements.

The idea was to make the watches in Switzerland and export them to the United States, but taxes proved unwieldy and IWC entered a period of ownership ups and downs until Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel stepped in and his family ran the company for four generations. In July 2000, Richemont, a Zug-based luxury goods group took ownership.

The new IWC.com resembles a window on a counter display that can be opened and the products examined in micro-detail at the pass-over of a mouse. All told – it reads and navigates like a handsomely illustrated coffee-table book, sleek, detailed but spare, elegant – like the brand it is selling.

The About vertical includes the usual, News and Events, Partnerships, Contact – and a Library which offers a subscription to WATCH International Magazine, The IWC Book – a microsite about the history of the company, and the downloadable iPhone app, as well as desktop background downloads.

The Collection showcases seven watch families from IWC Vintage to Pilot’s Watches, and a mouse-over brings up a detailed, enlarged image of the selected timepiece such as:

IWC’s 5000 Calibre: released in 2000, has a mechanical movement that automatically powers the watch for seven days without external movement. Production was limited to 2000 pieces, 250 platinum, 750 in rose gold and 1000 in stainless steel, with prices listed from $10,500 to $19,000.

IWC’s Portofino Dual Time, available fall 2011, was unveiled at this year’s SIHH with an approximate price tag of $17,600.

Under Special Editions and Exceptional Pieces, one finds the Grande Complication, aptly named, one of the world’s most complex mechanical wristwatches, this limited edition of 50 watches per year includes a perpetual calendar mechanically programmed for the next 500 years, and a minute repeater with crystal-clear chime tones.

Experiences offers testimonials from people involved in the manufacture and articles about horology illustrated with stunning photography.

Forum is for exchange amongst IWC afficiandos and their Facebook page, has over 41,000 Likes.

IWC milestones include: the first digital timepiece created in 1885; the first anti-magnetic watch created for pilots in World War I; a new record for watch water resistance with the Ingenieur that sustains pressure at 2000 meters underwater; the Da Vinci chronograph with a mechanically programmed perpetual calendar for the next five hundred years.

“Many European heads of state swore by IWC timepieces. Winston Churchill was presented with a gold IWC hunter, a pocket watch, by eight Swiss doctors for his role as the "liberator of Europe" in 1944, and when Sir Edmund Hillary made his successful assault on Everest in 1953, he wore the Ingenieur, the first IWC watch to feature patented automatic winding.” Today’s IWC customers include a broad range of watch connoisseurs such as Michael Jordan, Giorgio Armani, Cate Blanchett, Elle Macpherson and Kevin Spacey.

Both main characters in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” wear them: Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko wears a Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar watch in rose gold, and Shia LeBeouf’s Jacob Moore sports a Portuguese Perpetual Calendar in 18k white gold, just over 42mm wide, and retails for $38,800.

One more website tab is Partnerships, an important piece in the mix of the IWC ethos.

BC spoke with IWC about the challenges and rewards of being an upscale purveyor of a high-ticket item geared towards serious collectors in today’s online environment.

BC: How would you describe the IWC brand?

IWC: We are called “The Engineers of fine Watchmaking.” With its 143-year history, IWC is one of the pioneers of the Swiss watch industry. Authentic values such as innovation, engineering, precision and quality all have a part to play in the success story of IWC.

We are able to meet widely differing requirements with a broad product range made up of highly individual families of watches, whose origins are deeply rooted in the history of the business. We have clearly positioned our product lines and, despite developing them continuously, have still managed to retain their roots. This continuity makes us strong and generates products of which we are proud.

Who is your customer community? Who typically buys your watches?

We appeal to people with an interest in engineering and with an affinity for discreet luxury. Although they may not understand the technology in depth, they nevertheless derive emotional inspiration from it. Typical IWC customers appreciate the restrained design, the functionality and the user-friendliness of our timepieces.

You speak of reflecting the DNA of your business in your iwc.com relaunch.

Our new website reflects our Engineering excellence and focuses on technics, function, aesthetics and attention to detail.

Asked what charitable event or partnership IWC is most proud of to date: “Active climate protection and environmental responsibility. We are involved as a driving force behind the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation, we are partnering with adventurer David de Rothschild, the Cousteau Society, the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation which was created by the heirs of Antoine des Saint Exupéry.

“We entered recently into an exciting partnership with the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race starting in October 2011 as race sponsor and official timekeeper.”

In summing up IWC’s outlook, Dominic Weir, Head of Consumer Marketing says, “Over the past few years we have witnessed a significant shift in the way people experience and interact with Luxury brands in the digital space. It’s no longer a one-way brand-to-customer communication, it’s a dialogue and interaction that spans multiple channels.”

Encompassing the best of a rarified culture rich with history, and the rigors of a luxury brand in the modern digital landscape, IWC is a horologists’ dream – and perusing their new website is well worth...the time.

IWC from littlevoicemedia on Vimeo.