February 24, 2005 The wristwatch, for most of the last century, has been the ultimate male Gizmo! One of the few accepted male adornments, the pocket watch evolved into the wristwatch and subsequently into a key indicator of social status, particularly in the upper echelons of society. So what do the world's most powerful men wear?
An article this week in Russia's leading newspaper addressed this question and the results make fascinating reading. The world's most powerful man wears a US$50 Timex, whilst other heads of state wear timepieces that cost up to US$500,000 plus.
The mechanical clock came into being early in the 14th century, and the first public clock was erected in Milan, Italy around 1335.
Clocks slowly began to make their way into homes later that century and portable timepieces were first manufactured for sale in the early 16th century. Initially, these were carried in a pocket, did not have a minute hand (minute hands did not appear until 1670), and the use of protective glass over the face of the watch did not come about until the 17th century.
As the personal, portable timepiece grew in usage, the pocketwatch became the choice of gentlemen.
Less than 100 years ago, no self-respecting gentleman would be caught dead wearing a wristwatch. In those days of yore, real men carried pocket watches.
Wristlets, as the wrist-worn variants were called, were reserved for women, and considered more of a passing fad than a serious timepiece.
No-one believed that the miniaturization necessary to make a watch so small could be achieved without a loss of accuracy. In fact, wrist watches were held in such disdain a century ago that As has so often been the case with new technology, its introduction and subsequent performance under the most exacting conditions (i.e.
war) was the catalyst for a change in public perception.
Though armies had been equipping their fighting personel with pocketwatchs as early as the 1880s, the convenience of the wrist-worn device became a major tactical weapon in the Boer War (1899-1902) for coinciding simultaneous battlefield initiatives and from that point forth the wristwatch's appeal to men began to grow.
In the case of the wristwatch, it was its widespread military use during WW1 that turned the tide of public opinion.
Switzerland had been the home of the timepiece from the beginnings of the craft and science of clock-making and its export statistics in the immediate post-war period make illustrative reading.
In 1920, roughly one quarter of Swiss personal timepiece exports were wristwatches, while 75% were pocket watches. By 1934, demand for the wristwatch had seen its market share grow to 65%, and immense R D was lavished on wristwatch technology, resulting in ongoing miniaturization, more accuracy, self-winding mechanisms and greater durability in the form of water and shock resistance.
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