Did you know that the history of horology is about 3500 years old?
Or did you know that at one point in human history, wristwatches were exclusive for women?
How about the smartwatch was first invented in the 1970s but only got popular 50 years later?
If you want to learn about the history of timekeeping devices, then this is where you should begin.
If you are in a hurry, jump to different stages of horology with the TOC below.
- Ways to Measure Time – 1450s BC
- Invention of Clock – 14th Century
- From Clock Watch to Pocket Watch – 15th Century
- World War I & Wristwatch – 1910s
- The Quartz Crisis – 1950s
- Rise of Smartwatch – 1970s
- The Past, Present & Future of Timepiece
Without further ado, let’s go back to the ancient civilization to find out how they measure time.
Ways to Measure Time – 1450s BC
Civilizations from different parts of the world have different ways of measuring time.
The Egyptians who worship the sun god, use a “Sundial” device which operates under their god to tell time.
The Romans used water clocks to measure time when the sun is not in favour of time.
The ancient Chinese burn candles and incense sticks as countdown timers. Usually a standard incense stick burns about half an hour. [1]
The Portuguese navigators rely on hourglasses to track time during their sea navigation.
Invention of Clock – 14th Century
In the late medieval time, 100% mechanical clocks were made to overcome the limitations of hourglass and water clocks. They rely on falling weights to operate, but the accuracy is no better than traditional devices.
Then in the 14th century, the invention of escapement marked a milestone in horology. It’s a mechanism which controls the motive power at a constant rate. Verge and foliot escapement was one of the most important inventions in watchmaking.
In 1656, Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens invented the first pendulum clock. The clock runs on harmonic oscillators, its accuracy only offset by a minute per day and the later version reduces to 10 seconds. It was the most accurate time keeping device by then and showing minutes and seconds become meaningful. [2]
From Clock Watch to Pocket Watch – 15th Century
In the early 15th century, the invention of mainspring unfolds the history of watches. Before that, time measurement devices around the world can only operate while “standing” still.
The mainspring is like a battery, which stores power and makes portable clocks possible. Many said that Peter Henlein (Nuremberg craftsman) was the inventor of the watch. He is definitely one of the first Germans who made a clock watch, but there is no solid evidence Henlein was the first.
Early clock watches were drum shaped cylinders made of brass, they had only an hour hand, terrible accuracy and had to wound up for power, twice a day. But the ladies don’t wear them to tell time, it’s jewelry for them to show off at tea parties. Later on clock watches took on different shapes like flowers, crosses and even skulls to match with dressing styles.
In 1675, the invention of the balance spring pushed the watch making industry a huge step forward. It is a mechanical part attached to the balance wheel which regulates the power at a constant rate. The invention improves accuracy of a watch, from plus minus several hours a day, down to about 10 minutes per day. Now watches are no longer a fancy jewelry, but a practical time telling device. [3]
The clock watch remained to be a women’s accessory until Charles II of England introduced waistcoats in 1675. The waistcoat’s pocket becomes a perfect place for the vulnerable clock watch. To fit better, the clock watch gets rounder and flatter, and now we have the pocket watch. [4]
MatchesWatch 101
There is a saying that the word “watch” came from the Old English word “woecce” which meant watchman. Another saying was, a device where the sailors used to time their duty shifts in the 17th century. [5]
World War I & Wristwatch – 1910s
There are many sources credit Abraham Louis Breguet for the first wristwatch in the world. It was a special order from Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810. The watch was last tracked in 1855 for repair and did not appear ever since.
Do you know that hundred years ago, men didn’t get to wear wristwatches, it was exclusive for women only, until WW1 brought that style to men in war.
When the military officers needed something to coordinate attacks and troop movement. Pilots needed something more practical than pocket watches when both hands are busy. Even soldiers at the frontline wanted a safer way to do a time check. [6]
Wristwatch becomes the perfect solution to all men at war. By the end of WW1, almost every enlisted man wore a wristwatch and the fashion spread across the world. Ever since then, wristwatches have become an everyday carry for almost everyone.
In 1923, John Harwood released the first commercially successful automatic movement watch.
In 1961, Russian astronaut took the first wristwatch into the space, a Strela (СТРЕЛА) Chronograph.
The Quartz Crisis – 1950s
Switzerland has been known for the best and largest watch making country before the 1970s. Swiss brands dominate the market with mechanical watches but they have no idea what’s coming to them.
The revolution started in the early 1950s. A joint venture between Elgin National Watch (US) and Lip (France) invented an electromechanical watch. The watch has almost the same structure as the mechanical watch, only that it runs on battery instead of mainspring. The idea of using batteries for watch movement sets the foundation of quartz watches.
Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH), an organization established in Switzerland Neuchâtel and Seiko (Japan) saw the opportunity and entered into a race to the first quartz watch.
Seiko first revealed the Seiko Crystal Chronometer QC-951, a portable quartz clock at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Five years later in 1969, on Christmas day, Seiko showcased Astron, the first quartz wristwatch in the world. [7]
A year later at the 1970 Basel Fair, CEH showcased the first Swiss quartz watch, the Ebauches SA Beta 21. It’s a quartz movement[internal link] project, which the CEH members could use to produce and market their own Beta 21 watches.
Although quartz movement watches are more accurate and have a longer battery life than mechanical ones, many Swiss brands were reluctant to join the revolution. By the time they realised the change of market demand, they were forced to sell or merge to survive the crisis.
Rise of Smartwatch – 1970s
The first electronic digital watch is from Pulsar, a watch brand under American Hamilton Watch Company but sold to Seiko in 1978. The most popular model Pulsar P2 2900 is also the James Bond’s Watch.
After Seiko’s huge success on quartz watches, the brand did not sit back and relax. In the 1980s, the brand continued to explore “High Tech” watches. They even manage to build a TV watch which is also showcased in Octopussy, a James Bond movie in 1983.
But these watches aren’t “smart” enough. Steve Mann, also known as “the father of wearable computing” presented the world’s first Linux wristwatch at IEEE ISSCC 2000. The watch can process images and transmit live video to the internet. In other words, it can communicate with other devices, which is a huge difference from other “smart” watches. [8]
The huge potential of smartwatch brought technology companies and traditional watch brands together. Between 2000 to 2010, there were a number of smart watches released to the market. [9,10,11,12]
- IBM and Citizen had WatchPad
- Epson and Seiko had CHrono-bit
- Palm and Fossil had Wrist PDA
- Sony Ericsson and Fossil had MBW-100
Fossil, Suunto and Tissot came out with smartwatches running on Microsoft technology SPOT.
Although the industry is very excited, the customers are not buying it. Until a fundraising project in 2012 changed everything. Pebble, a California company raised over 10 million dollars for their smartwatch on kickstarter. The tremendous demand draws every technology company into the race again, but this time, without the watchmaking giants. [13]
After years of development, smartwatches are no longer a niche product and they are getting into our daily lives. Showing real time statistics while working out, pushing email or messages and even warning us about our health issues. Although the quartz and mechanical watch still have the biggest market shares, many believe that the smartwatch will overtake them in the near future.
The Past, Present & Future of Timepiece
The ancient civilizations were able to measure time with the help of their gods. As civilization progressed, the human race needed a more accurate device.
In the 14th century, innovators came out with 100% mechanical clocks to replace ancient devices. The early inventions were no better than traditional devices. But later on, big pendulum clocks are accurate to hours, minutes and seconds.
In the early 15th century, the invention of mainspring allowed clocks to go portable. Stationary clocks became clock watches and ladies wore these as accessories. Later on, men got their own version, the pocket watch.
World War I gave birth to wristwatches and the huge demand pushed the Swiss watchmaking industry to a new peak. While the Swiss were dominating the market with mechanical watches, Seiko (Japan) started a quartz revolution.
Quartz watches have the biggest market share in the present day. They are accurate, practical and affordable. The mechanical watch becomes an accessory to tell time, and also to represent fashion taste and personality, or even social status.
Smartwatches might change the future, many consumers are buying it for more than time checking. They wanted something to remind them about their health issues, to summarize their outdoor activities or even making calls and sending messages to their loved ones.
That is everything and I hope you enjoy our history of timekeeping devices.
