At the beginning of the 16th century, there were three popular watches:
- The tall cylindrical drum watch (Dosenuhr) is used as a desk clock or as a wallet;
- The flat cylindrical drum watch (Dosenuhr) is worn on the neck of a rope or necklace;
- The spherical watch of the small commander (Bisamapfeluhr) is worn on the neck.
The oldest portable watch in the world was born around 1530. It has a spherical appearance. It was made in Germany and has no watchmaker’s mark. It may come from Nuremberg, because Nuremberg is considered the birthplace of spherical watches (called “Nuremberg Eggs”).
The name of this watch is “Pomander Watch” and it looks more like a miniature table clock. Or it may be a portable watch with a pull ring on it, which you can wear on a chain.
So, where did the world’s first wearable watch come from? this is a problem.
Argument 1: Invented by Napoleon.
Historians say that the idea of attaching a small clock to a soldier’s hand with a strap may have been invented during the Boer War or a little earlier in the German Navy-historical records show that Napoleon was constantly opening it during the battle. The pocket watch came to check the time and was furious-but most people agreed that the First World War determined the status of the watch, whether it was in military history or at the top of men’s jewelry.
Argument 2: It was created by the Duchess of Koscowicz of Patek Philippe of Hungary.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the first ladies’ watch was made by Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe for the Duchess of Koscowicz of Hungary in 1868.
But Breguet’s record in 1810 designed a thin and oval watch for the Queen of Naples, placed on a wristband of hair and gold thread.
It is said that the Queen of Naples ordered Breguet in 1810 and delivered it in 1812. But the proof that Breguet showed was an order record.
Argument 3: Girard-Perregaux completed the first watch.
According to reports, after an officer complained that pocket watches were very difficult to operate during the bombing, watchmaker Girard Perregaux supplied the German Navy with the first samples in 1880. It is said that the officer showed his boss his own solution: strap a pocket watch to his wrist. At the request of the military, the company sent several watchmakers from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland to Berlin to start producing relatively small timepieces fixed on bracelets.
Argument 4: Cartier.
Cartier’s iconic Tank watch was created in 1917 when its founder, Louis Cartier, saw Renault tanks on the western front during his service.
It is said that the original design did not have a name, but Cartier also mentioned that the basis for creating this model at that time was the tank’s square instrument panel and a bird’s-eye view of the side track.
The question is, there is another version of the legend about this watch. In 1904, the first prototype of a men’s watch was called the “Santos Watch”, named after the Brazilian pilot Alberto Santos Dumont. Santos asked his friend Luis Cartier (the founder of Cartier) if he could make a watch that would make him perform well during the flight. It is precisely because of Alberto’s celebrity status that watches are popular with men.
All right! You should also realize that it doesn’t seem to be that simple to really want to sort out who is No.1. Waiting for the development of land warfare in the early 20th century, a new form of watch evolved-trench watch (sometimes nicknamed “wristband”) basically equipped with the same ceramic dial, black background with white numerals and luminous hour hands. This is the prototype of the early men’s watch. Like his ancestor pocket watch, the cover is fixed on the front and back by hinges.
However, not all tables are very useful. Wilsdorf & Davis finally adopted the brand name Rolex and began to experiment with watch production in 1905. At the beginning, Rolex produced a small number of silver male and female models with leather straps, and achieved great success, and soon added “gold models”. At the beginning of Jinlao, the customer group was mainly concentrated in the United Kingdom.
In the process of clocks from “carrying” to “wrist”, Hamilton’s transformation is very interesting. Hamilton, founded in Pennsylvania in 1892, was originally qualitatively designed to manufacture accurate pocket watches for train timing in railway stations throughout the United States.
I didn’t have much to do when I was idle, after all, there was no need to rush delivery after the demand was met. But as soon as the First World War broke out, the US military asked Hamilton to provide him with military watches. To this end, Hamilton also gave the U.S. Air Force an improved watch in its initial period.
As the iconic pilot became the iconic image of an army hero, wearing aviator glasses, wearing a leather jacket and wearing a long scarf, Hamilton’s Khaki pilot watch was a great success. During and after the war, a total of more than one million pieces were produced. Khaki has become a symbol-although how it happened is still a history shrouded in mystery.
Mecano: The beauty of the watches that emerged from that era lies in their simplicity. Although who created the first watch is still to be discussed, we can find that a rule is: “The war advances the development of the watch.” Many classic watches have the figure of World War I, accompanied by heroes and pilots. Born.
