The History of Watches: 10 Turning Points

The history of watches is a long and fascinating one, dating back to the Medieval Era and flourishing with the blossoming of science and technology that the Renaissance brought. The technological progress of the watch was often driven by political and military needs. After all, rarely are those two separated. In fact, it was the Great War to end all wars that helped to make the wristwatch surpass the pocket watch for men.

Watchmakers have always made innovative use of the technologies available to them, always pushing forward towards the creation of better, more accurate timepieces. Here are some highlights and turning points in watch history:

1. It’s pretty, but is it practical? While it was Peter Henlein who, in the early years of the 16th century, brought the size of the clock down to what could be called a watch with his oval-shaped “Nuremberg Eggs,” it was Jacob Zech who devised a way to transform the watch from a novel but not very practical item, to something with real timekeeping value. In 1525, Zech helped to resolved the problem of the watch moving fast when first wound and then slowing as it wound down by regulating movement with his fusee, serving also to secure the dominance of the Swiss in fine watch making for centuries to come.
2. Counting the seconds took centuries. Not so long had passed since time was counted only by the hour hand on watches and many clocks, as with the “Nuremberg Eggs,” when in 1560 the second hand first appeared on clocks. However, more than a hundred years passed before that hand actually counted seconds accurately, with the second hand appearing on the watch in 1690. An essential part of that increased accuracy was the balance spring , which came into use in 1675.
3. Precision timekeeping solves the longitude problem. As the world expanded, through marine travel and the discovery of new worlds, the need for accurate, portable time grew stronger, spurring leaps forward in watch making technologies. Navigational needs led rulers throughout Europe to offer huge rewards for successful innovation. This is part of the inspiration that encouraged John Harrison to devote so much of his life to developing precision time keeping technologies. His efforts were essential to solving the “longitude problem” and through his work, a whole new level of accuracy was achieved in the watch. He began his work on this navigational problem in 1727 and was formally recognized for his success in 1773.
4. Still marking time after all these years. One of the oldest watchmaking names in the business around today originally opened for business in 1755 in Geneva. Jean-Marc Vacheron began making the watches that would carry his family name for more than two centuries. Innovative designs featuring a broad range of complications have always been a part of this watchmaking house’s way. This secured its position not only in the history of Swiss watchmakers, but also as one of the most notable watch makers in the world.
5. Some say he was the greatest watchmaker the world has known. Abraham Louis Breguet opened his watchmaking enterprise in 1775, and made countless innovative contributions to the modern wristwatch - many of which are still used in today’s finest mechanical watches. He designed movements that increased accuracy and allowed him to slim down the case to a size that offered a sleek elegance that redefined the possibilities of watches. The traditions he began centuries ago in Paris still influence design today.
6. The first real effort at mass production. In 1880, Girard-Perregaux became the first to mass-produce watches. These watches were manufactured for German naval officers and were designed to be worn on chains around the wrist. This was perhaps one of the first formal acknowledgments by a military force that the pocket watch was not the most practical means of timekeeping in battle - since it required a free hand to remove from a pocket.
7. Practicality rules the day. By the time World War I got into full swing, it became readily apparent that two hands were better than one, and the wristwatch became the battlefield timekeeping device of choice. As the war began, many military forces still issued pocket watches to their troops, so the men improvised, tying them to the wrist, or bought their own, choosing from the specially-made trench watches that became popular during the time period. The wristwatch became masculine, tough, and replaced the pocket watch as being the favored timekeeping piece for men - soon to be army-issued and civilian-bought.
8. Bringing timekeeping to the masses. In the early days of the watch, it was a rich man’s status symbol gadget and a wealthy woman’s fashion accessory – expensive and rather delicate. It did, of course, become sturdier and more accurate, but was still expensive. The manufacturing improvements made possible by the Industrial Revolution allowed for the mass production of watches, using cheaper materials and simpler designs, bringing affordable pocket watches and wristwatches to the everyday working people. Dollar Watches were among the most famous of these mass produced, low-priced watches. One of the biggest makers of these watches meant for the masses, Ingersoll Watch Company, advertised themselves as being the manufacturers of “The Watch that Made the Dollar Famous.”
9. Competition comes from the east. The first Japanese wristwatch was made in 1913 by a company that would eventually become known as Seiko. Seiko has contributed numerous innovations in function and design to the world of horology, as have other Japanese companies. Among these are Citizen, which made their first wristwatch in 1931, and Casio, a company that started out making calculators and other products, before moving into making wristwatches in 1974.
10. Marching on with the advance of technology. As the world became enamored of rapid developments in science and technology, so, too, did watchmakers, with many experimenting with designs that went beyond the purely mechanical. In 1957, Hamilton produced the first electronic watch. Soon quartz driven watches hit the scene, and again, Girard-Perregaux was at the mass-production forefront, being the first manufacturer to mass-produce an affordable quartz wristwatch in 1969. Digital watches arrived in 1972, and ten years later, Seiko produced a watch with a small television . The wristwatches of today incorporate a wide range of modern technologies, with some offering a GPS (Global Positioning System), others offering cell phone service, and still others able to perform computer functions.

While today there are many timekeeping devices that accompany the average person through his/ her busy days, it is unlikely that the history of the wristwatch is going to come to an end any time soon. As has been the case with the watch from its very beginning, there are always innovative watchmakers looking for ways to take the watch to the next level of precision and usefulness.

October 8th, 2007