The History of the Wrist Watch
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The History of the Wrist Watch
A Raymond Lee Jewelers writing for your reading or educational enjoyment.
The wrist watch's origins began with the timepieces of 16th century Europe. They were fastened to clothing or worn around the neck like a necklace. Several inches in diameter, they were larger than today's wrist watches and only had an hour hand. Instead of a glass face, they often had a brass cover which was sometimes made with a grill-like design to allow viewing of the time without opening it, and they had to be wound twice a day. Because they were inaccurate and unreliable, they were more of a fashion statement than a true timepiece.
In the 17th century, these watches evolved into the pocket watches that men traditionally owned, and glass faces were created. A key was used to wind the watch. For nearly three centuries, this was the preferred method of owning a watch.
Not until 1868 was the first wrist watch even created. Constant Girard created a concept of a wrist watch for the naval officers of Germany. German Kaiser Wilhelm I ordered 2,000 watches to be produced. This was the first commercial production of wrist watches. But at the beginning of the 20th century, women predominantly wore wrist watches, and men did not.
Around the turn of the century, Louis Cartier and Edmond Jaeger invented the first prototype of a men's wristwatch, for an aviator who wished to time flight performances without taking his hands off the wheel. Soldiers in the First World War used wrist watches to keep time while their hands were full, and they were called, “trench watches”. Once this caught on, pocket watches gradually fell out of style. The self-winding wrist watch was invented in 1923.
Around the turn of the century, Louis Cartier and Edmond Jaeger invented the first prototype of a men's wristwatch, for an aviator who wished to time flight performances without taking his hands off the wheel. Soldiers in the First World War used wrist watches to keep time while their hands were full, and they were called, “trench watches”. Once this caught on, pocket watches gradually fell out of style. The self-winding wrist watch was invented in 1923.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the invention of the electric watch and the quartz watch, both of which were important technological revolutions. This increased the accuracy of these wrist watches. Finally, in 1990, a radio-controlled wrist watch was created, which gave long-term accuracy to the wrist watch. Today, the wrist watch is a common timepiece for many, though cell phones have emerged as timepieces in their own right.
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