Are You a Watch Expert?

A Brief History of Watches

• Watches were developed in the 17th century from spring-powered clocks, which appeared as early as the 14th century.

• Mechanical watches were driven by clockwork and powered by winding a mainspring, while electronic quartz watches were powered by a battery and kept time with a vibrating quartz crystal.

• Smartwatches, which are elaborate computer-like electronic devices designed to be worn on a wrist, incorporate timekeeping functions along with various features such as calculators, GPS, Bluetooth technology, and heart-rate monitoring capabilities.

• Modern watches often display the day, date, month, and year, and various extra features called "complications" are sometimes included.

• Expensive collectible watches, valued more for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and glamorous design than for simple timekeeping, often have traditional mechanical movements, despite being less accurate and more expensive than their electronic counterparts.

• The wristwatch goes back to the production of the very earliest watches in the 16th century, and they were almost exclusively worn by women until military men began wearing them towards the end of the 19th century.

• The impact of the First World War of 1914–1918 dramatically shifted public perceptions on the propriety of the man's wristwatch and opened up a mass market in the postwar era.

• John Harwood invented the first successful self-winding system in 1923, and Glycine incorporated this module into its watches in October 1930 and began mass-producing automatic watches.

• The first electric watch used a battery as a power source to oscillate the balance wheel, and the commercial introduction of the quartz watch in 1969 was a revolutionary improvement in watch technology.

• The movement and case are the basic parts of a watch, and the movement of a watch is the mechanism that measures the passage of time and displays the current time.

• Mechanical movements use an escapement mechanism to control and limit the unwinding and winding parts of a spring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release.

• The tourbillon, an optional part for mechanical movements, is a rotating frame for the escapement, used to cancel out or reduce gravitational bias.

• Tuning-fork watches use a type of electromechanical movement that is powered by a battery and uses a tuning-fork resonator instead of a traditional balance wheel to increase timekeeping accuracy.Overview of Watch Movements and Displays

• Traditional mechanical watch movements use a mainspring as a power source that must be rewound periodically.

• Automatic watches use an eccentric weight called a winding rotor to rewind the mainspring by the natural motions of the wearer's body.

• Electronic or quartz movements use a quartz crystal that is made to vibrate by the piezoelectric effect and resonates at a highly stable frequency to pace a timekeeping mechanism.

• Seiko developed the world's first portable quartz watch in 1964, and the first quartz wristwatch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron in 1969.

• Quartz watches quickly became dominant in the market and ended the 100-year dominance of mechanical watches.

• Solar-powered watches use a photovoltaic cell on the dial to convert light to electricity to charge a rechargeable battery or capacitor.

• Tactile watches, such as the Silen-T and the Bradley, are designed for sight-impaired users with raised bumps or ball bearings that indicate the time.

• Digital displays show the time as a number, and the first digital electronic watch was the Pulsar LED prototype in 1970.

• LED watches were expensive until Texas Instruments mass-produced them in 1975, which led to a decrease in price and the sale of the Pulsar brand to Seiko.A Comprehensive Overview of Watches

• LED displays were popular for a few years before being superseded by LCDs, which used less battery power and were much more convenient in use.

• The first LCD watch with a six-digit LCD was the 1973 Seiko 06LC, with various forms of early LCD watches with a four-digit display marketed as early as 1972.

• Watches that incorporate batteries often have the electric illumination of their displays, but to conserve the battery, the light is activated only when the user presses a button.

• Talking watches speak the time out loud at the press of a button, and tactile watches are preferred to avoid awkwardness.

• Wristwatches with analog displays generally have a small knob, called the crown, that can be used to adjust the time and wind the spring.

• Dress watches are traditionally gold, thin, simple, and plain, while sports watches are considered acceptable for informal (business), semi-formal, and formal attire.

• Trade in counterfeit watches constitutes an estimated US$1 billion market per year.

• The Omega Speedmaster Professional was selected by NASA and is mostly known thanks to astronaut Buzz Aldrin who wore it during the moon landing.

• Watch construction may be water-resistant, and watches suitable for scuba diving are sometimes called diving watches.

• The material of the case must be tested to pass as water-resistant.

• None of the tests defined by ISO 2281 for the Water Resistant mark are suitable to qualify a watch for scuba diving.

• Such watches are designed for everyday life.Diving Watch Standards and Navigation

• Diving watches are designed to be water-resistant during activities such as swimming, but not for scuba diving.

• The ISO 6425 international standard regulates the standards for diving watches, which are tested in static water under 125% of the rated water pressure.

• The water-resistance standards are different for dive watches compared to non-dive watches, with eight minimum requirements for mechanical diver's watches for scuba diving.

• Watches are classified by their degree of water resistance, with some rated in meters, bars, or atmospheres.

• Analog watches can be used to locate north and south using the Sun's movement in the sky and the hour hand's rotation.

• The point halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will indicate south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere.

• During daylight saving time, the same method can be employed using 1 o'clock instead of 12.

• This method is only accurate enough to be used at high latitudes.

Think you know everything about watches? Test your knowledge with our quiz on the history, movements, displays, and standards of watches. From the development of mechanical and electronic watches to the rise of smartwatches, you'll explore the various components, features, and functions of timepieces. Discover the different types of movements, displays, and materials used in watch construction, and learn about the standards that regulate water resistance and diving watches. With questions on everything from the first self-winding system to the iconic