MWC was founded in 1974 by Wolfgang Obrigheimer, although he manufactured a limited number of watches in the mid-1960s and branded the movements Military Watch Company it was not until 1974 following a conversation with another famous watchmaker Albert Wajs of Ollech and Wajs who also lived in Zürich that he decided to run the business full time, Wolfgang ran the business at the time alongside two business partners both of whom had also previously worked in the horological industry, under Wolfgang's direction the company initially made hand wound mechanical watches progressing to quartz models in 1978, some models which we make today such as the MKIII, W10 and G10 battery hatch models trace their origins directly back to these early designs and are still visually very similar but with significant design improvements.
Wolfgang unfortunately passed away in 2020 at the age of 91 but he continued to be involved with the company until the last few months of his life and still assisted enthusiastically with design concepts which was something which he still had a good eye for, like many watch designers of the past he enjoyed sketching the models rather than using computer aided design which is generally used today in fact we still have some drawings from the early watches back in the 1970s and early 1980s. Up until the last few weeks of his life he enjoyed good health and continued with his hobby which was renovating grandfather clocks and mantlepiece clocks, his son now runs the clock restoration business full time. It is our intention to introduce some wooden replica military mantlepiece clocks in the near future based on a RAF Mess clock from 1927 which Wolfgang had owned for many years.
Our design office, procurement and contract sales staff are still based in Zürich, Switzerland where the company began and we also have a location in the USA which deals with business in North America. Over the last 15 years, we have set up service and distribution centres in several other countries with manufacturing facilities in both in Switzerland and Germany continuing to manufacture parts and deal with assembly.
MWC is one of the worlds leading suppliers of robust military specification timepieces, not just to individual buyers and the military but also to police forces, anti-terrorist units, airlines, mining companies, shipping and salvage companies and a diverse variety of government agencies and departments.
