100 years of wrist watches

[Gollnick]

As 2004 heads into the final haul, I was reminded today that the first wrist watch prototype was created in 1904.

Brazilian aviator Alberto Santo-Dumont complained to his friend French jeweler Louis Cartier that he had trouble getting his pocket watch out of his pocket while flying. Santo-Dumont wore the prototype as he made a test flight of a new aircraft of his own design. When he landed and emerged before the crowd of fashion-concious Parisians, he consulted the watch to see how fast he'd flown. The watched caused a sensation and very quickly al men abandoned their large pocket watches for the new miniature wrist watches. And the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[underaged!]

OOO. I kina wish I had a small pocket watch though.

Good to know.

 

[hamachikama]

Way cool, thanks for the info, I always wondered when the first wrist watch was made.

 

[Cougar Allen]

In the 19th century wristwatches were novelty jewelry, for women only and not popular even with women. (Search for "wristlet".) A few soldiers started wearing them in the late 19th century, Boer War etc. -- especially artillery officers. In WWI they became so popular with soldiers that it overcame the feminine image and even civilian men started wearing them.

The early soldier's wrist watches were usually lady's pendant watches with wire lugs soldered onto them. If you poke around www.timezone.com you can find pix and info.

This is not to refute the story of Brazilian aviator Alberto Santo-Dumont's wristwatch, of course -- it wasn't the first wristwatch and wasn't the beginning of their real popularization either, but it was a step along the way.