Watch it!
Gordon Bethune once said “Watches are the only jewelry man can wear, unless you’re Mr. T”. True to this statement, watches have come a long way from being a timekeeper to a piece of jewelry for both, men and women. But this was not always the case. When the watch was first invented you couldn’t even wear it on your wrist. Queen Elizabeth I in fact helped inspire modern day design of the wrist watch. In 1571, her court favorite, Robert Dudley, gifted her an ‘arm watch’- a watch that could be worn on her arm. After that, Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented pocket watches in 1770, but the first “automatic” wristwatch was invented in 1923 by a British watch repairer named John Harwood.
The first wrist watch was made for a woman, Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, by Swiss watch manufacturer Patek Philippe in 1868. Although it was the first time-keeping device to be designed specifically for use on the wrist, it was intended primarily as a piece of decorative jewelry. Another famous watch was owned by
Queen Caroline of Naples, presented by Abraham-Louis Berguet, the leading Swiss watchmaker. During those times, the wristwatch was more popular among women than among men, hence the menfolk were more into pocket watches.
The wristwatch was going strong as a woman’s wear till the Boer War of 1899-1902, when officers turned to the wristwatch to help them synchronize attacks, to the point that it helped
the British winning the war. The official ‘campaign watch’ was marketed by watchmakers Mappin & Web in 1898, targeted specifically at military officers.
Modern watches have evolved from pocket watches to analog to digital to smart and gradually watches have made their way to the “essentials” list of every person. Be it for time keeping, keeping track of calories lost, or even checking emails, watches now command more attention than ever before. In fact, watch connoisseurs now have a new-found obsession – the vintage watch! Find your latest obsession in Beverlyheels.com.
