A Brief History Of Mens Watches From Neck To Wrist

Throughout history there have been numerous developments in timekeeping devices

, from sundials and water clocks that gave an approximation of the time to candle clocks and sand timers that told the user when a certain period of time had passed. However the first mechanical clock was invented around 996 AD as a way for monks to regulate prayer and work schedules, and the first portable clocks designed to be worn came about in the early 1500s. Known as pendant watches, these items were half way between the size of a modern watch and a standard clock, and were worn either fastened onto clothes or on a chain around the neck.

These pendant watches were very heavily decorated with engravings and gemstones and only had an hour hand. The face of the watch was not covered with glass as is standard in modern watches. Instead they usually had a hinged brass cover that could be opened to see the time, although many of these covers were decorated with fine grillwork that allowed the time to be seen with the cover shut anyway.

However, despite needing to be wound twice a day, these neck watches were still extremely inaccurate. The mechanism inside was based around a spring that slowed down as it unwound, making the hour hand itself slow down and so these mens watches usually fell behind by several hours every day. No one actually used them to tell the time but rather they were worn simply for decoration by rich nobility who could afford them in the first place, much like any other piece of jewellery. Later this same century it became fashionable to wear pendant watches with unusual shapes such as a book, an animal, a star or a fruit. There were even skull shaped watches made for men.

In 1610 the first watches with glass coverings were made and mens watches were designed that could be wound up with a special key at the back. In 1657 a feature called a balance spring was added to the mechanism inside watches which made them much more accurate. Now, instead of being some hours out they would only end up about 10 minutes slow by the end of the day. Two men, Robert Hooke and Christiaan Huygens, both claimed to be the inventor of the balance spring and even today we still do not know who the true inventor was.

In 1675 Charles II made wearing waistcoats popular and the pocket watch was invented. Watches were now always small and round to fit into the pocket of a waistcoat. Ladies watches however were still worn as necklaces and this did not change until the 1900s. Thanks to the new accuracy, in 1680 the first minute hand was added to a watch in Britain. 85 years later a man named Thomas Earnshaw improved mens watches even more so that they were only a few seconds slow per day.

The first time that watches were worn on the wrist was in 1880 when all German navy officers were given one, as it kept their hands free to hold weapons, and which were invaluable in synchronising attacks. These early wristwatches had leather straps and a metal grille over the face to protect them from damage. In 1906 expandable metal straps were created to make watches multi sized and they were so useful that by World War I all troops were issued watches. Companies such as Patek Philippe and Rolex rushed to create these war watches and soldiers often kept them as a souvenir, but society scorned them and said that real mens watches were worn at the pocket.

It was in fact women who first fell in love with wristwatches and bought them in droves, but by 1930 most men owned a wristwatch too. Since then mens watches and ladies watches alike have undergone even more developments such as the invention of a waterproof watch in 1962 by Rolex, electric watches in the 1950s and quartz watches in 1969. Quartz watches remain the most popular type of mens watches uk and worldwide customers favour, although in 1990 a very accurate radio controlled watch was also invented.

by: Leah Williams

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