Hystory Of Watches

History of Watches

1500s : Germany : Peter Henlein creates the first pocket watch.
1485 : Leonardo da Vinci sketches a fusee for a clock.
Early 1600s : Form watches becoming popular. Cases are shaped like animals and objects. Religious themes are popular.
1635 : Around this time that the fusee was adapted from clocks to watches.
1659 - 1675 : Christian Huygens invents the "Remontoire".
1687 : Daniel Quare patents the repeating mechanism that uses bells to sound quarter hours and the hours.
1704 : Peter and Jacob Debaufre, Nicolas Facio, are the first to use rubies in watch movements.
1750 : Watch makers began using enamel on watch dials.
1759 : Thomas Mudge invents the English lever escapement.
1775 : Abraham Louis Breguet sets up his own watch making shop in Paris, France.
1780 : Abraham Louis Perrelet invents the self winding movement.
1786 : Breguet is the first to use guilloche on watch dials.
1791 : J.F. Bautte founded the watch company that would eventually become Girard-Perregaux.
1807 : Thomas Young invents the recording chronograph.
1809 : Luther Goddard of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts is the first watch manufacturer in America.
1820 : Thomas Prest registers a patent for the self winding watch.
1833 : Antoine LeCoultre starts his own watchmaking business which later become Jaeger-LeCoultre.
1837 : First Tiffany store opens.
1843: Adrien Philippe develops a watch with winding and setting through the crown.
1844 : The start, stop, and reset chronograph is invented by Adolph Nicole.
1844 : Antoine LeCoultre invents the millionometre.
1848 : Louis Brandt opens his own workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds which eventually became the Omega Watch Company.
1853 : Tissot makes the first dual time zone watch.
1858 : Minerva is founded.
1860 : Heuer is founded.
1865 : Zenith founded.
1881 : Movado founded.
1884 : Greenwich, England is officially named the zero meridian and used as the world wide recognized basis of time zones.
1886 : Geneva Seal established.
1894 : Universal Geneve established.
1905 : Hans Wilsdorf starts the Rolex Watch Company.
1914 : Eterna introduces the first wristwatch with an alarm.
1918 : Japan : Shakosha Watch Company opened. This would become Citizen in 1931.
1923 : John Harwood is the first to mass produce a self winding wristwatch.
1924 : Tokyo : Seiko brand name is launched by Kinttaro Hattori.
1926 : Rolex introduces the first waterproof case called the "Oyster".
1929 : First anti magnetic watch created by Tissot.
1933 : Ingersoll introduces the "Mickey Mouse" watch.
1956 : Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date.
1957 : Hamilton introduces the world's first battery driven watch.
1962 : Rado produces the world's first scratch proof watch called the "Diastar 1".
1962 : ETA of Switzerland develops the first quartz battery operated watch.
1970 : Hamilton releases the "Pulsar", the first electronic digital watch.
1972 : Longines and Seiko introduce the LCD, (Liquid Crystal Display).
1980 : Hublot founded.
1983 : SMH of Switzerland launches the Swatch brand.
1985 : Swiss Heuer Company merges with TAG to form TAG Heuer
1986 : Audemars Piguet introduces the first self winding tourbillon.
1991 : Franck Muller founded.
1999 : Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).


Rolex Watch History

Rolex Watch Company was founded by Hans Wilsdorf. Wilsdorf was was born March 22, 1881, Kulmbach, Franconia (Germany). In 1900 he
gained an apprenticeship in a watch exporting firm located in La Chaux De Fonds. At 24 Wilsdorf decided to set-up his own watch-making
business. Wilsdorf & Davies was founded in 1905 in London. By 1908, the firm was amongst the leading watch merchants in the United
Kingdom. Wilsdorf had dreamt of creating a brand for his watches. He chose the name 'ROLEX'. It is thought he drew this name from the
wording "Horlogerie Exquise". In 1910, official recognition was gained from the "Bureau Officiel" in Bienne. In 1925, Wilsdorf spent
100,000 Francs into advertisements based in U.K. news periodicals touting the quality of his watches. In 1926 the "Rolex Oyster" was
born. In 1956, the gents "'Day-Date"' model appeared. Hans Wilsdorf passed away on July 6, 1960.

Tag Heuer Watch History
In 1860 Edouard Heuer founds the Heuer watchmaking company in St-Imier, Switzerland. In 1882 Heuer patents his first chronograph. In
1911, the company introduces the first automobile dash board chronograph. During the 1920's Heuer watches are timekeepers at the
Antwerp, Paris and Amsterdam Olympics. Heuer launches the "Carrera" chronograph, named for the 1950's "Carrera Pan-america Mexico"
road-race. In 1965 Heuer patents the "Microtimer". From 1971 to 1979 Heuer is named official timekeeper for formula one racing. In
1985, Heuer joins the "Tag" group and the famous watch name and logo are changed from Heuer to Tag-Heuer.

Cartier Watch History
Founded in 1847 by Louis-Franois Cartier. Cartier was master jeweler to Europe's crowned heads. The first true Cartier wristwatch, the
"Santos", was introduced in 1904. Jeweled wristwatches followed in 1906. 1910 : Louis created and patented the deployant folding
clasp. 1917 : Introduction of the Cartier Tank watch. 1933 : Cartier commissioned by the Pasha of Marrakech. Most contemporary Cartier
collections are based upon Louis distinctive design classics.

Seiko Watch History
1881 : Established by Kintaro Hattori.
1892 : Foundation of Seikosha clock supply factory.
1895 : Production of Fob watches begins.
1913 : Production of the first wrist watch made in Japan.
1924 : Seiko brand first used on watches.
1964 : Seiko serves as Official Timer of Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
1969 : Introduction of Seiko Astron.
1970 : Establishment of Seiko Time Corporation in USA.
1982 : Seiko serves as Official Timer of World Cup Soccer Championships in Spain.
1984 : Introduction of world's first "talking" clock, the Seiko Pyramid Talk.
1986 : Seiko serves as Official Timer of World Cup Soccer Championships in Mexico.
1987 : Seiko serves as Official Timer of 2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Italy.

Omega Watch History
Company founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848. 1900 : Awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris World Fair.
Awarded the world precision record of 97.8 points at the Kew-Teddington observatory in England in 1936. Omega has been the official
timekeeper at no less than 21 Olympic Games. The Omega Speedmaster watch was chosen by NASA as its official chronometer in 1965. Was
the first watch to be worn on the moon on 21 July 1969.

Movado Watch History
Founded in 1881 in La Chaux-de-faunds, Switzerland. Movado, means "always in motion" in Esperanto. Founded by watchmaker Achille
Ditisheim and his team of six employees. All watches were manufactured by hand. 1899 : Awarded six first-class Official Rating
Certificates in their class. 1910 : Won the Grand Prix Exhibitions in Paris, Rome, Brussels and Rio de Janeiro for their introduction
of 8 ligne wristwatch movements. Movado also used designers and artists to create one-of-a-kind limited edition watches.

Longines Watch History
1832 : Longines Watch Company founded by Auguste Agassiz.
Agassiz opened a workshop in St Imier, Switzerland. Around 1860, Agassiz handed over the operation of the watchmaking business to his
nephew Ernest Francillon. Francillon built a factory in Les Longines near St. Imier. The Longines name was born.
1879 : Started producing chronographs.
1890 : Registered its "Winged Hourglass" trademark.
1912 : Produced the first automatic timekeeping device.
1950's : Longines purchased the Wittnauer watch company.
Longines also developed aviators’ watches and cockpit instruments.


History of Watches by Benino Alberto
The family of Benino have been watch makers for three generations. As a child Benino developed a strong interest in watches and over a
course of a lifetime he has collected more then a thousand watches as part of a historical collection.

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