IWC – A Gift for Long and Faithful Service

On 31 October 1952, employees from Vin- & Spritcentralen’s operations across Sweden gathered at Hotell Gillet in Stockholm. The occasion was “Veterans’ Day”, a celebration recognising long and faithful service. Among those honoured was Sven Sjöblom, whose name, together with “V&S” and the year 1952, is engraved on this IWC. According to family information, he received the watch on this occasion, and it has remained in the family ever since.

That year’s presentation marked a change in tradition. At the request of staff organisations, the gold medals previously awarded were replaced with Swiss wristwatches. The women received smaller watches on suede straps, while the men were presented with watches on leather straps. Each watch was accompanied by a cheque for SEK 300. Many recipients immediately put on their new watches, and several remarked that they had never owned a wristwatch before.

Of the 241 employees eligible for the award, 232 attended. The company had granted those travelling to Stockholm time off, together with travel and subsistence allowances. For some, it was their first visit to the capital. Orchestral music and welcoming speeches opened the ceremony before the recipients were called forward to receive their gifts. Lunch followed in a dining room decorated with autumn flowers, accompanied by music, speeches and the opportunity to meet colleagues from other parts of the country.

Sven Waldemar Sjöblom’s working life had begun many years earlier. On 15 May 1918, he joined J. Cederlund & Co, later moving to Reimersholm as a chauffeur. In 1947, he was promoted to a staff position, initially serving as a gatekeeper. In November 1950, he transferred to Vin- & Spritcentralen’s head office, where he worked in the forms department until his retirement in May 1963. He was remembered for the care and conscientiousness he brought to his work.

Outside his professional life, Sjöblom had a keen interest in sport and target shooting. He helped develop the shooting section of Spritcentralen’s sports association and was also active in the Swedish Home Guard. His roots lay on Norröra in the Roslagen archipelago. He retained vivid memories of childhood Christmases there and enjoyed returning during the summer to the family’s holiday home overlooking the surrounding islets and skerries.

The watch’s maker, the International Watch Company, was founded in Schaffhausen in 1868 by the American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones. His ambition was to combine Swiss watchmaking expertise with modern industrial production methods and hydropower from the Rhine. From its early production of pocket watch movements for the American market, the company developed into a manufacturer of both elegant wristwatches and specialised instrument watches, with its pilot’s watches and the Portugieser becoming significant parts of its history.

This stainless steel IWC, measuring 33.5 mm in diameter and housing calibre 88, brings the Swiss manufacturer’s history together with a working life in Sweden. Its personal engraving preserves the memory of Sven Sjöblom and the appreciation shown to him at the Stockholm ceremony in the autumn of 1952.

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