History Related to Watches
Circa 3,500 B.C.
Sundials were created as tools with more precision to measure the passage of time, first utilizing calendars. They were used to study the natural rhythm of daylight and night.
1400-1500
Leonardo da Vinci drew an illustration of a fusee for a clock in 1485. In 1504–1508, Peter Henlein created the first contemporary pocket watch. Early clock watches were fashionable in the 1500s and were worn as necklaces or attached to attire. Because they only had hour hands and were poor timekeepers, they were a prestige symbol for those who were rich.
1600-1700
The balancing spring, which was created by Robert Hooke or Christiaan Huygens in 1657, increased watchmakers’ accuracy. The waistcoat was invented in 1675 by English King Charles II. A repeating mechanism for watches was created by Daniel Quare in 1680, and every quarter hour it plays a bell sound. After being developed by Jost Burgi in 1577, the minute hand was first used in Britain and France in 1680.
1700-1800
In 1704, Nicolas Facio, Jacob, and Peter Debaufre invented the use of rubies for watch movements. The lever escapement was created in 1759 by Thomas Mudge and modified in 1785 by Josiah Emery. In 1780, Abraham Louis Perrelet created the first self-winding mechanism.
1800-1900
Louis Brandt established his factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848, which was a turning point for the watchmaking industry. The first wristwatch was created in 1868 by Patek Philippe of Patek Philippe & Co. He also invented the chronograph, perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, and minute repeater. Watches could be mass-produced starting in 1876 because of cheaper materials and industrial production, which allowed common workers to own them more as useful items than as status symbols. Constant Girard of Girard-Perregaux fame created a wristwatch idea for German navy officers around 1880. The formal designation of Greenwich, England as the zero meridians (GMT +0) made it the international reference point for time zones in 1884.
1900-2000
Men stated they would “sooner wear a skirt than wear a wristwatch” and rejected the wristlet as a fad when it first appeared in the 1900s as a fashion item for women.
2000- Present
The Timex Data Link 150 was introduced in 1994, enabling users to send and receive data to and from a computer using an optical sensor. The Casio Wrist Camera, which could take grayscale photographs with a 120 by 120-pixel resolution, was introduced in 2002. The first watch to use an e-ink display was the Seiko E-Ink Watch, which was introduced in 2005. Apple debuted the Apple Watch Series 1 in 2011, which effectively combined fashion and utility by enabling users to exchange messages, view caller ID, track their health, and more. Since then, customers have started to like digital wristwatches more.