The History of the Watch
by Martin Smith
Before learning about watches you should be familiar with some of the
terminology. The word
horology has two meanings; it is the study or science of measuring time
or the art of making clocks,
watches, and devices for telling time.
Since the first appearance of man on the earth an effort has been made
to measure time. The tracking
of the sun's movement across the sky, candles that were marked at
intervals, oil lamps with a marked
reservoir, sandglasses (hourglasses) are some of the ways in which time
was measured. In the Orient
knotted cords and small stone or metal mazes filled with incense that
would be burned at a specific rate.
Water clocks did not depend on the observation of the sky or the sun.
The earliest water clock was found
in the tomb of Amenhotep I who was buried around 1500 B.C. Greeks called
them clepsydras; they were
stone containers with sloped sides that allowed water to drip at an
almost constant rate from a small hole in
the bottom. Other clepsydras were cylinders or bowl shaped designed to
slowly fill up with water coming in
at a near constant pace. Markings on the inside of the bowl marked the
passage of the hours. Though this
was used primarily at night, it is thought they were used in the day
hours as well. A metal bowl with a hole
the bottom was placed in a larger bowl filled with water. It would fill
and then sink in a certain amount of time.
Since water flow was not exactly predictable and difficult to control
the flow accurately, timepieces that
depended on water were very inadequate. People were drawn to develop
more accurate ways of measuring
and telling time.
The development of quartz crystal clocks and timepieces depended on the
crystal size, shape, and temperature
to create a frequency. Quartz clocks and watches continue to be popular.
They work well enough for the price
and although they tend to be slightly 'off' the correct time most people
can afford them.
The first watches had a natural movement but no minute hand. They had to
be wound every twelve hours.
Watches were originally worn more for adornment than functionality.
Timepieces worked with weights but
these were not practical in portable timepieces.
Time measurement has been a goal of man from the beginning and a time
line will help you understand how
we got to where we are with watches. Watches have so many new functions.
They have the date, the time,
times across time zones and some have stop watches. Most watches have
some kind of an alarm in them.
The possibilities are endless and I can really see a Dick Tracy type of
watch being real.
Here is a timeline of watch history. Some of the years might not be
listed in chronological order but I got them
as close to it as possible. It is very interesting to learn how watches
have developed. It's amazing when I think
of the minds of the people who had their hand in creating watches, how
smart and technical they must have been!
Prior to 1600 - The main problem was the driving power the timepieces
ran were balanced weights. This made
it difficult to carry them around.
1524 - Henlien was paid fifteen Florins for a gilt musk-apple with a
watch. This is the earliest date of watch
production that is known.
1548 - Other watches appeared and were probably French or German in
origin.
1575 - Swiss and English products began to appear. This was the period
of the most advancements and
innovation. First watch movements were made of steel and then later
brass. They were straight verge watches
with no balance and were highly inaccurate. The use of spiral-leaf main
spring began. This allowed the power
of a movement without hanging weights. These pieces were inconsistent in
their accuracy.
1600 - 1675 - This was the age of decoration. Watches became more of a
decoration and jewelry piece
rather than being functional. The shape of cases changed from tambour
cylinder with a lid, to a circular case with hinged, domed covers on the front
and back. Champleve enamel and relieved case filled with colored enamel
appeared.
1620 - The glass crystals were fitted to the cases as a typical
alternative to metal opaque covers. The glass
is translucent and allowed the owner to see the time without taking off
the cover. In order to set the watch
and see the time, the cover had to be removed.
1625 - Plain watches came about as the result of the Puritan movement.
After 1660 - Fancy shapes and adornments were seen mostly on ladies'
watches.
1675 - The spiral balance spring is first used in watches. The accuracy
now was measured in fractions of
minutes as opposed to fractions of hours. This increased accuracy caused
watchmakers to create a dial that
had a minute hand and was divided by minutes.
1675 - Charles II introduced waistcoats with pockets. Men now carried
their watches in their pockets rather
than on a pendant.
1704 - Dullier and Debeaigre developed a method of using jewels as
bearings.
1715 - Sully found out that creating a small sink around each hole would
retain the oil because of the surface tension.
1725 - It was common to find a large diamond endstone in the cock.
1750 - The names of watchmakers never appeared on the dials of watches
till now.
1761 - John Harrison made a clock that was so accurate it was used to
measure longitude during sea voyages.
1775 - Champleve is now rare.
Purrelet began production of self-winding watches.
1780 - Rareguel produced these watches.
1800 - The pocket chronometer was a readily available and accurate watch.
1814 - Massey was the first who used a push or pump with a rack that
operated by pushing the pendant that
turn on a ratchet basic or going bowl.
1850 - The United States were the first to use mass production with
mixed results
1900 - Advances were made in metallurgy. This was the introduction of
the balance spring on the first verge watch.
1952 - Battery powered watches became available.
1970 - Electronic watches were very successful.
Watches today use quartz crystals, batteries, and there are even atomic
watches. Time tracking has never been
more accurate and advances in the field of Horology are being made all
the time.
Martin Smith is a freelance writer providing advice and information on a
variety of products. His numerous articles
provide a wonderfully researched resource. Drop by the site for more
information if you have
time www.1st-4-jewelry.com
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