Watches are truly an incredible invention, sometimes tracking footsteps and heart beats, others recording swimming speeds, and of course telling the time. Many have taken on the watch and twisted and molded it into something of their own, with newer, more advanced, high-tech features. It’s time to take a technological dive into a world where time and technology fuse together…

THE HISTORY OF WATCHES

Humans invented the concept of time thousands of years ago at around 1500 B.C, and the style and presentation of it has only evolved into newer, better inventions.

Sundials (and sometimes water clocks) were popular methods of telling the time - it was easy, and at the time the quickest and most efficient method.

In 1510, the first watch company was born. It helped bronze, brass and silver to become more popular and valuable, and it gave jewelers the opportunity to try watchmaking.

Watches you could just place in your pocket became very popular - at first, all they showed was the hour hand, until the minute hand was added in 1680. Many citizens chose to dangle their watches on their neck, but Charles II of England encouraged people to keep them in the waistcoat, earning the watches the title of a pocket watch.

The first watches did not have any protection over the actual clock. Some hinged cases were designed to protect the clock hands whilst they told the time, until glass became popular.

The watch then evolved into the wristwatch, where people actually strapped them to their wrists. The first to cultivate this new style of watchmaking was Abraham-Louis Breguet, designing the first ‘oblong shaped-repeater for wristlet’ in 1810.

However, wristwatches weren’t seen as a popular choice for males: it was women who first wore them, and men stuck to pocket watches. Later on, they realized the amazing qualities wristwatches had compared to pocket watches.

In 1868, Hungarian Countess Koscowicz had a wristwatch created, this time by a world-renowned manufacturer, Patel Philippe.

Over the years, other jewelers and manufacturers saw watchmaking as a solid way to earn money - the cost of manufacturing watches can sometimes be much less than the selling price: many more watch brands were established, including Rolex (established in the early 1900s. Also known to have developed the first waterproof watch in the 1920s).

THE MOON-SWATCH

Some watches have their own ‘eras,’ which basically means that they became a huge trend and everyone wants to buy them. Many brands, like Rolex and Cartier, have had such situations, but the most notable (and probably most recent) watch ‘era’ was definitely the MoonSwatch. At their release, demand was off-the-charts high, and supply was off-the-charts low. Everyone was searching everywhere, queuing and much more.

The actual watch was a collaboration between two major watch brands, Swatch and Omega. The Omega Speedmaster was a popular watch, and the MoonSwatch was a variation of it - many stores had eager watch-collectors camping outside for days, including the store on Oxford Street (London, England).

The watch is also pretty environmentally friendly - it uses ‘BioCeramic’ materials, which means it’s crafted from 66.6% ceramic and 33.3% bio-derived plastic.

All of the colors are to do with space - for instance, the yellow MoonSwatch is supposed to represent the Mission To The Sun, and the watch is “the star of the collection in bright sun-brushed gold.” Similarly, the dark blue watch is supposed to represent the Mission to Neptune, and the watch is “celebrating the ice giant in a freezing deep blue.”

THE APPLE WATCH

Instead of a single era, the Apple Watch has been a craze for many years, and it’s likely it’ll stay that way. Everything is so perfect and immaculate with Apple’s products - this watch also fits that pattern. You can call people, play games, track steps and heart rate, message, go onto social media, see how much you slept - it’s unheard of, having so many abilities at your fingertips. Literally.

The first Apple Watch was born in 2015, and quickly became a very popular smartwatch - otherwise known as a wearable device. Despite the name, the only thing an Apple Watch does similarly to other watches is telling the time - but this smartwatch is so, so much more than that. By December 2022, the Apple Watch had reportedly gained more than 115 million buyers. Later on, Apple reviewed their success, and started releasing new-and-improved models of their watch.

Each watch has corresponding straps available in many different colors, textures and sizes. You can get watch straps made from Hermes leather, or branded with the Nike logo, or the Apple logo, or with many decorative holes, or one to celebrate Pride month, or one that’s super fuzzy - the possibilities are endless.

The Apple Watch is commonly linked with the user’s iPhone, and automatically it’s set up - much like a new iPad is configured by linking it with the older iPad of the owner.

CONCLUSION

We hope you enjoyed our article on watches. They can be many, many things - from communication sources to health tracking services to telling the time, they truly are wonders. Any questions or concerns you have should either be emailed to ntsnews@substack.com or messaged below on the commenting section.

RESEARCH SOURCES: Apple, WatchBox, Omega & Swatch

IMAGE SOURCES: Omega, Swatch, Rolex, Apple & MacRumours

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