IWC Schaffhausen has launched a new release of its short film project Born of a Dream entitled A Man of the Future. It recreates the story of the brand's founder, Florentine Ariosto Jones,
and his efforts to make a dream come true: the creation of his own watchmaking company.
Jones' example joins that of Tom Brady, the quarterback who has won the most matches in the American National Football League (NFL). Brady, ambassador of IWC, starred in A Boy from San Mateo,
the first episode of the Born of a Dream series.
‘Born of a Dream’: a tribute to IWC founder F.A. Jones
In Born of a Dream: A Man of the Future, actor James Marsden plays the role of F.A. Jones during his time as a pioneer of the International Watch Company (IWC)..
The short film recalls F.A. Jones' first steps into the world of watchmaking in Boston, where he moved at the age of 16 from his hometown New Hampshire in 1856. During his time as a soldier in the Civil War
between 1861 and 1864, Jones developed an ambitious idea that would revolutionise the watchmaking industry in the 19th century. He made it his mission to manufacture pieces that would unite the essence of
Swiss handcrafted watchmaking with advanced American industrial techniques. This was done to achieve pocket watches of unparalleled quality and precision that he planned to sell on the American market.
Jones' designs, a timeless classic of fine jewellery
Jones convinced several investors to support his project, and with the money raised, he travelled to Schaffhausen, in Switzerland, where he founded IWC in 1868. From then on, he worked passionately to
achieve his goals, but the revenue was not as expected. Jones ended up leaving IWC and returning to Boston in 1876, where he would spend the rest of his life without ever again dedicating himself to watchmaking.
However, despite his apparent failure, several investors, led by Johannes Rauschenbach, took over from the founder and continued to manufacture watches as he had designed them. Jones had sown a seed that
germinated and gave rise to a brand that, to this day, remains synonymous of prestige and reliability in the world of fine watchmaking.
IWC Ambassador, Marsden, highlights that this film "talks about facing great challenges, overcoming adversity and the importance of determination and hard work”. These are values that, a century and a half later,
are still at the heart of Jones' successors at IWC Schaffhausen.
F.A. Jones and Tom Brady, two ways to fight for a dream
Together with Born of a Dream: A Man of the Future, IWC has launched a joint edition of the project's two short films. In it, Jones' struggle over his dreams is intertwined with Brady's,
resulting in a contemporary and universally valid portrayal of two stories that, although separated by a century of difference, have much in common.
Both films,
A Man of the Future and
A Boy from San Mateo, as well as their combined editing, are available in the
section dedicated to Born of a Dream on the IWC Schaffhausen website.
Furthermore, if you would like to learn more about the inspiring life of these two memorable men, you can visit the
official IWC website to spread the word about this initiative.
