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October 31th 2024

From Your Pocket to Your Arm: The History of the Wristwatch

 

Before the 19th century, pocket watches were the most common and popular way of telling the time. But the growing interest in wristwatches eclipsed everything else. 

But how did the wristwatch become so popular in the first place?

The story begins in 1806, when the Parisian court jeweller and later founder of the luxury jeweller ‘Chaumet’, Étienne Nitot, created two opulently decorated bracelets that revolutionized the timekeeping game. One of these pieces housed a mechanical calendar, the other a small clock – one of the first real wristwatches. Of course, these models were still a far cry from the compactness, complexity and perfection of today’s watches.

 

It can be assumed that his connection to Napoleon Bonaparte – he had already made several pieces of jewelry for him – probably had an influence on the order for the first wristwatch. In 1810, Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon, was the first person to order an exceptional wristwatch from the famous watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. This order, which went down in history as Breguet watch no. 2639, was to be “a repeater watch suitable for a bracelet” and was endowed with 5000 francs. It was flat, oval and fitted with a repeating movement attached to a fine bracelet made of hair and gold thread. A novelty.

CLASSICS CARREE LADIES- Frederique Constant

Although there were already pompous bracelets in which a ladies’ pocket watch could be inserted in the 19th century, these were not particularly functional. For men at that time, pocket watches were the ultimate. But with the advent of war, when soldiers on the battlefield had to read the time quickly, it was too inconvenient to have to unbutton their uniform jacket to access their pocket watch. So the wristband with a timepiece suddenly became a coveted accessory – even for men off the battlefield. Technical advances made smaller, more stylish watches with numerous functions possible, which also made them more popular with the masses. The practical wristwatch conquered the wrist!

In a world where time is often seen as our most precious commodity, the wristwatch remains a timeless symbol of style, functionality and the never-ending search for the perfect moment.

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Stefan Oberleitner

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Uhrmacher*in

mit abgeschlossener Ausbildung im Uhrmacherhandwerk für unser Patek Philippe-Team