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The year 1504 marked a major milestone in the history of timekeeping. It was then when Peter Henlein invented the first portable clock in Nuremberg, Germany. Those first watches were usually either carried in a pants or vest pocket attached to the end of a chain, or they were worn as a pendant attached to the end of a chain or a cord suspended around the neck. Watches worn on the wrist made sporadic appearance as early as the late 1500s. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have worn a watch encased in a bracelet. One of the first people known to have worn a wristwatch is the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). He attached his pocket watch to his wrist with a cord. The first wristwatch was actually invented in 1868 by Swiss watchmaker, Patek Phillipe. As interesting as it may seem, the wristwatch was not fully accepted by society at first. Wristlets, as they were called, were worn only by women as a fashion accessory.
Delicate, hand-made, gem-encrusted wristwatches were worn by women of royalty as an expensive jewelry piece. At that time, it was considered more of a "passing fancy" rather than a serious timepiece, since few believed wristlets could be made to achie ve any level of accuracy, nor could they endure the rigors of daily human activities. In 1904, French jeweler, Louis Cartier, created the first man's wristwatch. Cartier designed the watch to aid his pal, Mr. Alberto Santos-Dumont-a Brazillion Aviation Pioneer, who found the pocket watch to be very inconvenient and impractical while flying. Cartier's watch, named the Santos, was designed with a leather strap,cartier love necklace price, a distinctive square bezel, and a buckle. This watch became the blueprint for watches designed to this very day. The history of the wristwatch took a turn with the approach of WWI. The military leaders demanded all servicemen to wear wristwatches which would enable them to tell time with a quick glance rather than to have to dig into pockets-which was crucial while in battle. Leading watchmakers supplied military personnel with durable, accurate timepieces with large numerals, luminous hands and markers, and a metal grid over the dial for protection.
At the end of the war, these victorious troops arrived home with souvenir trench watches, named for the trench warfare they were used in. Furthermore, in 1917 Louis Cartier designed the Cartier tank watch-named so to describe the newly introduced armored cars on the Western Front. Consequently, the public's perception was quickly changed-wristwatches became the standard for both women and men. From then on, wristwatches were continuously improved and modernized. New styles, models, and shapes were constantly introduced by the many leading brands. In the 1920s many more important wristwatch features were introduced. Heuer (now TAG Heuer) began making a reputation for precise timing particularly in aviation and auto racing. They utilized one dial and a single casing for the stopwatch and wristwatch they combined. John Harwood developed a self-winding mechanism which he patented in 1923. In 1926, Rolex, though a relative new-comer to the watchmaking industry, invented a water-resistant watch, the Oyster.
Tissot created an anti-magnetic design in 1929, and the fragile glass covering the dial of many models were replaced with a more durable plastic crystal. At the same time, some innovations developed in relation to the watch mechanism. First came the automatic watch, which did not need to be wound manually. Then came the quartz watch in the late 1920s. Today you can find wristwatches of any color, shape, and style to suit and event, activity, or wardrobe. With today's modern technology, when clocks are installed in all cars, i pods, and cell phones, wristwatches are not necessarily worn as a timekeeping device,cartier love necklace pink gold, but rather as a symbol of status and style-similar to what it was when it all began.
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