A Brief History of the Wrist Watch

Many people seem to be asking the question "What creates a fine watch?" Watches and their purpose have changed dramatically since the first wrist watch was invented towards the end of the 19th century. The wrist watch filled a need for pilots that needed to keep track of time on a device that was more easily accessible than the more common pocket watch. It was simply more practical to use a watch strapped to their wrist than dig through their pocket during a flight to keep track of time.

During the First World War, officers utilized wrist watches to lead battles and wrist watches became a necessity for artillery men to conduct attacks at precise moments. At the end of the war, these men were allowed to keep their watches and when they went home, they spread this trend to many middle class people in the cities and towns they were from, all over the U.S. and Europe. Since then Wrist watches have become a popular necessity for many.

With the birth of cell phones and popular electronic devices, the wrist watch has changed from being a necessity for time keeping to more of an accessory or just fine jewelry. The accuracy of time pieces was once the most important factor when choosing a wrist watch. Today, with the emergence of good technology, virtually all watches are very accurate - from the cheapest $10 watch to the very expensive $10,000 watch. Accuracy is no longer the deciding factor in which wrist watch one chooses.