History of the Wrist Watch
From pocket watch to a fashion accessory. What was once, in the earliest years of portable watches, considered to be unsuitable for gentlemen and only for ladies, has developed nowadays into a fashion utensil that everyone has. In the meantime, the wristwatch is no longer just a tool to tell which time it is. It is a designer piece and can indicate much more than the time.
A great deal of mechanics in a small housing
The first verifiable portable timepiece was constructed in 1500. This was not a wristwatch, but more of a pocket watch. Through technical advancement, which made it possible for people to house mechanics in an more and more smaller space, the needed parts of the clockworks were able to be brought into a manageable form. In this way, the first pocket watch was born, which at the time was still the size of an egg.
The computerized wrist watch from Japan
A entirely new wristwatch came onto the market in the 1970’s from Japan, which had developed its own watch industry. The new wristwatch from Japan was no more set on a mechanical basis, but on a computerized control. This wrist watch expanded its range of capability rapidly. The wristwatch no longer just showed the time. The tiny timepiece on the wrist now also knew the date, the day of the week and even knew whether a leap year was involved.
The wristwatch as jewelry
Now, the wrist watch is no longer just a watch. The wristwatch has become a fashion accessory. Wristwatches come in all colors and shapes imaginable. One can also buy compatible watches from every fashion collection. The current watches are dominated by the correct fashion trends. Despite these contrary trends, there is something for every taste. The tiny watches, which require spectacles to tell the time, and the extraordinary big watches, which make it hard to walk upright. Anyway, one thing is certain: science is still likely to make so much advance – that the wrist watch will be seen on the wrists of people for a long time, to respond to the question as to what time it is.
