A History of Luxury Watches

From the invention of the mechanical clock in the 13th century to recent advancements in wristwatch technology, the history of luxury time-keeping is a long and illustrious one. Today, distinguished brands like Patek Phillipe, Cartier and Breitling still sell luxury watches and all hold massive status in the market; their products a marriage of perfect function and timeless style. But let's take a look at how it all started.

From pocket to wrist

peter_henlein_1524_pocket_watch The first pocket watch is generally attributed to a German clockmaker called Peter Henlein in 1524 (shown in the picture to the left) although these portable clocks would be almost unrecognisable by today's standards. Only display hour hands and using a clunky, fairly inaccurate mechanism, they were more of a status symbol than anything else, with disputed early advocates being Henry VIII and Charles II of England. Decades passed and the first second hands and balance springs were added to the pocket watch in the late 17th century, with precision chronometers coming into use in the early 1700s. Progress was made in accuracy around this time, with Thomas Mudge inventing the lever escapement in 1759. It was not until nearly a century later however, that the first wristwatch made it onto the scene.

From fashion to necessity

In 1812, the Queen of Naples ordered a wristwatch from Abraham-Louis Breget, a Swiss horologist. Because the watch has never been found, some dispute this and credit Patek Phillipe with the invention, much later in 1868. In any case, watches were worn on the wrist mainly by women as a fashion item in those early years and it took the First World War to alter this permanently. Soldiers doing battle in the trenches needed a practical timepiece they could access easily and even after the war ended, they were known as 'trench watches'. The fashion switched from pocket to wrist in the decades following the war, when a series of technological developments saw the watch begin to resemble the luxury pieces of today.

New technologies

1957 was when the first electrically-powered watch appeared, designed by US company Hamilton and it was not long before quartz crystal watches took over in terms of precision time-keeping. Seiko was responsible for this early development but the technology took off, with Breitling eager to sell luxury watches with features such as a distress-signal transmitter and Patek Phillipe launching the most complicated watch in the world in 1989. As we settle into the 21st century, the innovations don't stop coming. Ceramic and silicon are the order of the day when it comes to the latest materials, while TAG Heuer's space-age sports watches are made with grade 5 titanium. Though luxury manufacture is still a huge industry, many believe mobile devices like phones and tablets will render the watch obsolete in the not too distant future. Something as well-crafted as a Panerai or a Franck Muller watch should survive the modern age unscathed, with aesthetic appeal and top-quality performance always in demand. But, as with so many relics of the past, only time will tell.