Watches Can Tell More than Time

Watches not only tell time, they also send messages. Not the ubiquitous e-mail or text messages, but personal statements about their owners. Just as astute observers draw different conclusions about people from cars they drive— whether they’re luxury models, hybrids, SUVs, or minivans—so, too do they discern meanings in someone’s choice of a watch?
Even since Shakespeare’s time, a watch’s function has been secondary to its form, and today, its form is determined by its intended use: for sports, business, or formal occasions. This is why many people own three or more watches.
The first timepieces dates back to the 16th century, when Peter Henlein, a German locksmith, invented the first pocket watch. This invention was made possible by the development of mainspring and escapement mechanisms, which worked together, along with the balance wheel, to measure time. (“Escapement” refers to the unwinding of the watch, causing the ticking sound.) Henlein’s pocket watch—called the knock off watches Nuremberg Egg because it was oval and bulky— only measured hours.
In the mid-17th century, the balance spring, or hairspring, was added to the balance wheel, dramatically improving its accuracy. Although Queen Elizabeth inspired the use of wrist watches among women in the late 1500s, men continued to use pocket watches because they were considered more masculine. In 1780, the longine watches self-winding pocket watch was developed in France that eliminated the need for manual winding. In 1922, the self-winding, or automatic, wristwatch was patented. Timepieces that use mainsprings and escapements have what is known as mechanical movements, with an analog display—a numbered dial with moving hands. These watches—the more expensive, the better—are the tissot watches men favorites of collectors and watch aficionados because of their fine craftsmanship and intricate design. Of these watches, the Rolex is without question the finest example of quality, craftsmanship, and elegance.