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THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF WATCHES

THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF WATCHES

It’s been said that the first mechanical clock was invented in England circa 1275, and one of the oldest working clocks, completed in 1386, is still in existence at Salisbury Cathedral. It doesn’t have a face and tells the time by striking on the hour. The Swiss watch industry was born in the 1540’s when John Calvin banned people from wearing jewelry, forcing jewelers to learn how to be…wait for it…horologists! Then in 1574 the first known pocket watch was created, only showing the hour. With the patent of the first pendulum clock in 1656 by Christian Huygens, timekeeping got much more accurate and scientists including Isaac Newton used the pendulum to accurately measure the shape of the earth due to the force of movement. Pocket watches with both a minute and second hand and glass to cover the face appeared in the early 1600’s, and the watch as we know it came into existence.