Primer On Watches
A Brief History Of Watches And Their Place In Modern Gentleman's Classical Wardrobe
Time keeping has always been an essential part of the human civilization. Military campaigns, sailing, crop harvest and religious ceremonies are all dependent on some method of time keeping and as civilization progressed, the need for more precise time keeping grew. The Watch remains as one of the few acceptable jewellery items for men that can be worn on most occasions; In addition a Watch can be a family heirloom and passed on to one’s children.
With that said, wearing a watch is not necessarily about keeping time, it is about the relationship with time and an homage to human ingenuity. While smart watches offer more options such as fitness and sleep tracking and even access to your phone, they are not considered classical pieces due to software limitation and their limited lifespan. The question is whether or not classic watches have a place in the modern gentleman’s wardrobe or are they an obsolete item of an age gone by.
So let’s have a look at the history of watches.
The oldest known watch is the Pomander Watch ca. 1505 and is attributed to Peter Henlein of modern-day Germany and the oldest watch maker is the Swiss manufacturer Blancpain, which is founded in 1735 with the caveat that Blancpain did go out of business for a while between 1961 and 1982. The oldest company that has been continuously in business is Vacheron Constantin which was founded in 1755.
Wristwatches themselves are a relatively new invention since in the middle ages, clocks were the primary method of keeping time. These massive clocks were worn around the neck and were wound using a key. The next step came in the form of pocket watches that were smaller versions of the aforementioned clocks and were worn in a pocket inside the owner’s coat, hence the name. Wearing the watch around the wrist became mainstream during the first World War where the pocket watch was not a practical tool for use in the trenches as the evolving tactics of warfare necessitated better coordination between units on the battlefield. This transition from pocket watches to wristwatches was aided by the use of wristlets, straps that would fasten the pocket watch around your wrist. As the war ended and veterans returned home, it had become quite clear that Wristwatches were an essential part of modern warfare. Louis Cartier was among the first to manufacture a wristwatch after being inspired by Renault tanks. He made his prototype and presented it to the american expeditionary force general John Pershing. The watch is the Cartier Tank and is one of the most coveted watches of all time.
Before the first war however, wristwatches were worn almost exclusively by women, usually on a bracelet adorned with precious jewels. There are conflicting reports as to who created the very first wristwatch, Patek Phillipe claims to have created it for a Hungarian countess in 1868 and they do have the watch to prove it. Breguet on the other hand say that they made the very first watch for the Queen of Naples in 1810. There are also other rumors pointing to other people including Queen Elizabeth I who wore watches on their wrists so who you choose to believe is ultimately up to you.
In the modern era, advancements in technology has democratized the watch industry to a very high extend and one can buy a quality watch for as low as 30 American Dollars; So let’s take a look at the anatomy of a watch and some common terms that are used in the industry:
Case is the main body of the watch which contains the Movement and the Dial. It comes in many different shapes and can be made from many different materials.
Dial or the face of the watch, it displays the time. can be made through different methods and colors and from different materials.
Crystal is the cover of the watch designed to protect the watch from elements. can be made from 3 general materials
Plexiglass is a type of plastic, it is cheap to produce and not very likely to break but prone to scratching.
Glass or mineral glass is a piece of tempered glass which is less prone to scratching, but more prone to shattering than plexiglass.
Sapphire is the most resistant to scratches but also very brittle and prone to shattering.It is the gold standard of the industry.
Hands are the markers that show the time and can be made with different methods.
Hour Markers are indicators on the face of the watch which mark out the hours. They use Arabic or Roman numerals, dots or triangles.
Crown is the protruding part used to set the time or the date and in manual watches is used to wind the watch.
Bezel is the part around the crystal and can be made of many materials and can be decorated using jewels or engravings.
Straps are the bands that secured the watch to the wrist. They can be made of many different materials and if made of metal they are called Bracelets.
Complications are any added function aside from the time such as Date, Chronograph, Tourbillon or a Tachymeter.
Last but not least the movement is the engine of the watch and here are 2 main categories of watches:
Mechanical watches use the kinetic energy from the controlled unwinding of the spring to power the movement. They are either Manual, which means they require the owner to wind the spring by rotating the crown or Automatic, which use a rotor to automatically wind the watch through the movement of the wearer’s hand.
Quartz or Electric watches use a battery to move the hands. they are the most accurate timepieces and the cheapest to produce. Spring drive is a hybrid between the electric and the mechanical movement, used exclusively by Grand Seiko it offers the accuracy of the quartz watch without the need to change the battery on a regular basis.
Mechanical watches are significantly less accurate than their quartz counterparts but are highly sought after in the higher end watches and are sought after by collectors and enthusiasts because of the incredible skill it takes to craft them. Quartz however, nearly bankrupted the Swiss watch industry ind the late 60s by making watches extremely affordable and it was only due to a wild gamble by Swiss manufacturers and watch designer Gerald Genta that the industry survived. Both mechanical and quartz watches are available today and have only improved in their accuracy in both the dress and sports category.
Dress watches, as the name implies, are watches meant to be worn with business attire and are more understated. They have leather straps and generally do not come with complications. Sports watches on the hand, are bigger for practical purposes, come with steel bracelets or fabric straps and more often than not are equipped with complications such as chronographs or tachymeters depending on the purpose of the watch.
Companies such as Longines provide affordable Swiss watches and boast a long history and heritage for almost 190 years.
Seiko and it’s subsidiary Grand Seiko provide both quartz and mechanical watches, representing the famous Japanese perfectionism in a wide range of prices from 30 Dollars and up.
Orient is a Japanese brand making affordable watches with exceptional quality.
Rolex and Omega provide reliable sports watches that are highly desirable by many and often considered the pinnacle of watchmaking by the general public.
Jaeger-LeCoulter is known as a watchmaker’s watchmaker. They offer dress watches, sports watches and unique pieces for collectors.
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Yours Truly,
Farid Mahnad