EVOLUTION OF WATCHES

SMART WATCH: 20th Century

A smartwatch can be considered a computer that is worn on the wrist, a wireless digital device that may have the features of a cellphone, portable music player, or a personal digital assisitant.

The first smartwatch, the Linux Watch was developed in 1998 by Steve Mann which he presented on February 7, 2000.

In 1999, the world's first watch phone was launched by Samsung. It was called the SPH-WP10. It consisted of a speaker and mic, an antenna and a monochrome LCD screen. Various other brands such as Microsoft, Sony, Lenovo, Nokia, etc. also launched smart watches around the year 2014.

Later, on September 9, 2014, Apple Inc. announced the launch of its first smartwatch named the Apple watch and which was released in early 2015. Currently there are various companies such as Samsung, Fossil, Fastrack which have launched many models and types of smart watches.

Apple Watch, Series 5

ATOMIC WRISTWATCH: 20th Century

Bathys Hawaii launched their Caesium 133 Atomic Watch. It was the first watch that kept time with an internal atomic watch.

The watch is based on a chip developed by Chip Scale Atomic Clock program of the US Defence Advance Research Projects Agency.

The head of Bathys, John Patterson designed the watch after he read about the chip. This project was funded by a Kickstarter campaign. The size of the chip was 1½ due to which the watch was very large and rectangular. It was also required to recharge it every 30 hours. This watch was accurate to 1 sec in 1000 years.

Caesium Atomic Watch

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/846511652/the-worlds-first-true-atomic-wristwatch-the-cesium

DIGITAL WATCH: 20th Century

The first digital electronic watch was developed by Hamilton Watch company and Electro-Data IN 1970. It was a Pulsar LED prototype. The Pulsar was finally ready, on 4 April 1972. It was made in an 18-carat gold case and it retailed for $2,100.

Digital LED watches were extremely expensive also out of reach to the common consumer till 1975, after which Texas instruments started mass-production of LED watches inside a plastic case. These watches, initially retailed for only $20, which was later reduced to $10 in 1976.

Pulsar LED prototype

https://monochrome-watches.com/hamilton-psr-reedition-hamilton-pulsar-first-digital-watch-review-price/

ELECTRIC WATCH: 20th Century

America's Hamilton Watch Company produced the first successful electric watch in the year 1957. These watches showed time with a balance wheel that was powered by a solenoid. The hands of the watch were still powered mechanically by a wheel train.

ANALOG WRISTWATCH: 19th Century

The first wristwatch was created in 1810 by Abraham-Louis Breguet who was French watch maker, he had created the wrist watch initially for the Queen of Naples. Later, the analog wristwatch was also worn by men.

Regardless of the time when it originated, the analog wristwatch continues to dominate in the 20th century as well as present time.

Analog Wristwatch

https://images.google.com/

POCKET WATCH: 17th Century

Style evolved during the 17th century and instead of as pendants men began to wear the watches in their pockets. On the contrary, the women continued wearing watches as a pendant into the 20th century.

The mechanism of these pocket watches was the same as the mechanism in clocks, which was invented in the 13th century.

Pocket watch

https://images.google.com/

CLOCK-WATCH: 16th Century

The first timekeeping device to be worn, was made in the 16th century in Nuremberg and Augsburg, they were around the size between clocks and watches.

Portable watches were made possible by the invention of mainspring in the beginning of 15th century. Peter Henlein a clockmaker from Nuremberg is often credited as the inventor of the watch.

These were attached to clothing or were worn on a chain as a pendant. They were heavy, cylindrical, drum shaped brass boxes a few inches in diameter and were also engraved and ornamented. They only had an hour hand.