WATCH KNOWLEDGE · HISTORY
The history of the watch
From medieval tower clocks to the precision instrument on your wrist – seven centuries of measuring time.
- c. 1300
The first mechanical clocks
Weight-driven clocks with an escapement appear in European towns and monasteries. They often have only an hour hand – but for the first time, time is measured mechanically.
- 15th–16th c.
The mainspring
A coiled spring replaces the weights. Clocks become portable; the first small table clocks and pocket-sized timepieces are made.
- 1656 / 1675
Pendulum and balance spring
Christiaan Huygens applies the pendulum to clocks and, around 1675, the balance spring to portable watches. Accuracy improves dramatically and the minute hand becomes meaningful.
- 18th c.
Precision at sea
Marine chronometers – most famously John Harrison's – make it possible to determine longitude. The lever escapement, still used in almost every mechanical watch today, is invented.
- 19th c.
Industrial production
Interchangeable parts and machine manufacture make watches affordable. Railways and factories make punctuality part of everyday life.
- 1900–1930
The wristwatch
Once seen as jewellery for women, the wristwatch becomes the standard for men too, especially after the First World War. Automatic winding and water-resistant cases follow.
- 1969
The quartz revolution
The first quartz wristwatch goes on sale. Quartz watches become accurate, affordable and ubiquitous – and plunge the traditional mechanical industry into crisis.
- Today
The return of mechanics
No longer needed to tell the time, the mechanical watch is valued as craftsmanship and heritage – while quartz and solar stand for everyday precision.