Watches – A Brief History
Almost all of us today wear watches. Without a second thought we trust these tiny machines to let us know what time of the day it is. For many people without a watch we would rarely be on time and and life itself could be chaos.
Where do these tiny little marvels come from though?
In this article we will look (briefly) at the history of watches. It's only in modern times that the watch you wear every day is common. Once they were an item that only the rich could afford. To really cover the topic we would actually have to get into the history of clocks as well. In this article we will just cover the history as it applies to watches.
The Earliest Watches 1500 – 1675
The first watch (that we know of) that was produced by one Peter Heinlein. It was in the early 1500's that Heinlein came up with the first means to drive a mechanism for a watch. His invention was the coiled mainspring. Prior to this even small clocks were rare, as they were driven by weights, and smaller timepieces tended to be very inaccurate.
Later in the 1500's watches of French and German origin were produced, and around 1575 the Swiss got into the business of making pocket watches.
At this point in time watches were really a novelty, and were only something you could imagine owning if you were very rich. They took hundreds of hours to produce and weren't accurate at all. Accuracy was improved somewhat nearing 1600 with ideas like the fusee being implemented to help maintain more constant tension on the mainspring, but even then these watches were nothing like the ones you and I know today. It was also around this time that brass movements began to be used (steel was used in the first watches).
From 1600 to 1675 there wasn't a lot of innovation that went into watchmaking. Watches became more sought after, but most of the changes in the 1600's went into decoration. Precious metal cases, engraved watches, and more, made the watch a sought after item for jewelry.
The Balance Spring 1675 – 1700
It was after 1675 that the next advancement came in the watchmaking industry. That innovation came in the form of the balance spring. There is some argument as to who first designed the balance spring, but it was this point where watches began to become accurate as timekeepers.
Prior to this watches were prone to lose an hour in a day. Accuracy was not a feature of the earliest watches. With the balance spring a watch became much more accurate. Instead of losing fractions of an hour is a day, suddenly they would keep time to within a few minutes.
Innovation 1700 – 1830
With the base technology in place for a watch they continued to improved over the next hundred or so years. In the early 1700's rubies were placed in the movements, by 1720 they were quite common. Around 1780 the first self winding movement was invented. Other technological advancements in watch movements continued in the 18th century.
Later in the century the innovation went into the materials and designs of the watches. A few of the other notable advancements of this time:
> 1807 : The first recording chronograph
> 1809 : First American watchmaker
> 1844 : The start, stop, and reset chronograph is invented.
> 1853 : Swiss watchmaker, Tissot, makes the first dual timezone watch.
1868 – The Wristwatch is Born
It was in 1868 that the first wristwatch was made. This new advanced style of watch was invented by Swiss watchmaker Patek Phillipe. It wouldn't be for another 30 years that the wristwatch really began to become popular, but by 1880 the Imperial Austrian Navy all wore them.
Advancements to the Wristwatch
Beyond 1900 things really begin to pick up for the wrist watch. As new advances in manufacturing came about as we move into the industrial era, so did technology in almost every aspect of things we build. As it applies to watches here are some of the most notable changes throughout the 20th century:
> First alarm wrist watch - 1914
> The first automatic wrist watch – 1923
> First water resistant Rolex -1927
> First watch for children – 1933
> Rolex makes the first watch to also display a date – 1945
> First battery powered watch – 1953
> First LCD display watch -1972
> Swatch watch is born 1983
> Tissot produces the first watch with both digital and analog readouts – 1987
Conclusion
Many of us take our wristwatches for granted. They have become such a part of daily life that most of us don't give them a second thought. The next time you strap on your watch remember that it isn't just a watch; in reality you are strapping on more than 500 years of innovation.
Where do these tiny little marvels come from though?
In this article we will look (briefly) at the history of watches. It's only in modern times that the watch you wear every day is common. Once they were an item that only the rich could afford. To really cover the topic we would actually have to get into the history of clocks as well. In this article we will just cover the history as it applies to watches.
The Earliest Watches 1500 – 1675
The first watch (that we know of) that was produced by one Peter Heinlein. It was in the early 1500's that Heinlein came up with the first means to drive a mechanism for a watch. His invention was the coiled mainspring. Prior to this even small clocks were rare, as they were driven by weights, and smaller timepieces tended to be very inaccurate.
Later in the 1500's watches of French and German origin were produced, and around 1575 the Swiss got into the business of making pocket watches.
At this point in time watches were really a novelty, and were only something you could imagine owning if you were very rich. They took hundreds of hours to produce and weren't accurate at all. Accuracy was improved somewhat nearing 1600 with ideas like the fusee being implemented to help maintain more constant tension on the mainspring, but even then these watches were nothing like the ones you and I know today. It was also around this time that brass movements began to be used (steel was used in the first watches).
From 1600 to 1675 there wasn't a lot of innovation that went into watchmaking. Watches became more sought after, but most of the changes in the 1600's went into decoration. Precious metal cases, engraved watches, and more, made the watch a sought after item for jewelry.
The Balance Spring 1675 – 1700
It was after 1675 that the next advancement came in the watchmaking industry. That innovation came in the form of the balance spring. There is some argument as to who first designed the balance spring, but it was this point where watches began to become accurate as timekeepers.
Prior to this watches were prone to lose an hour in a day. Accuracy was not a feature of the earliest watches. With the balance spring a watch became much more accurate. Instead of losing fractions of an hour is a day, suddenly they would keep time to within a few minutes.
Innovation 1700 – 1830
With the base technology in place for a watch they continued to improved over the next hundred or so years. In the early 1700's rubies were placed in the movements, by 1720 they were quite common. Around 1780 the first self winding movement was invented. Other technological advancements in watch movements continued in the 18th century.
Later in the century the innovation went into the materials and designs of the watches. A few of the other notable advancements of this time:
> 1807 : The first recording chronograph
> 1809 : First American watchmaker
> 1844 : The start, stop, and reset chronograph is invented.
> 1853 : Swiss watchmaker, Tissot, makes the first dual timezone watch.
1868 – The Wristwatch is Born
It was in 1868 that the first wristwatch was made. This new advanced style of watch was invented by Swiss watchmaker Patek Phillipe. It wouldn't be for another 30 years that the wristwatch really began to become popular, but by 1880 the Imperial Austrian Navy all wore them.
Advancements to the Wristwatch
Beyond 1900 things really begin to pick up for the wrist watch. As new advances in manufacturing came about as we move into the industrial era, so did technology in almost every aspect of things we build. As it applies to watches here are some of the most notable changes throughout the 20th century:
> First alarm wrist watch - 1914
> The first automatic wrist watch – 1923
> First water resistant Rolex -1927
> First watch for children – 1933
> Rolex makes the first watch to also display a date – 1945
> First battery powered watch – 1953
> First LCD display watch -1972
> Swatch watch is born 1983
> Tissot produces the first watch with both digital and analog readouts – 1987
Conclusion
Many of us take our wristwatches for granted. They have become such a part of daily life that most of us don't give them a second thought. The next time you strap on your watch remember that it isn't just a watch; in reality you are strapping on more than 500 years of innovation.
Labels: watches
Posted by Watch Shop UK at
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