From pocket watch to a fashion accessory. What was once, in the earliest years of portable watches, considered to be unsuitable for gentlemen and only for women, has developed nowadays into a fashion utensil that everybody has. In the meantime, the wristwatch is no longer only a tool to tell which time it is. It is a designer piece and can indicate much more than the time.

A great deal of mechanics in a small housing

The first verifiable portable timepiece was constructed in 1500. This was not a wristwatch, but more of a pocket watch. Through technical advance, which made it possible for people to house mechanics in an increasingly smaller space, the needed components of the clockworks were able to be brought into a manageable form. In this way, the first pocket watch was born, which at the time was still the size of an egg.

The computerized wrist watch from Japan

A completely different wrist watch came onto the market in the 1970’s from Japan, which had built its own watch industry. The new watch from Japan was no more set on a mechanical basis, but on a computerized control. This wristwatch extended its range of capability quickly. The watch no longer just showed the time. The little timepiece on the wrist now also knew the date, the day of the week and even knew whether a leap year was involved.

The wristwatch as jewelry

Now, the wrist watch is much more than a watch. The wristwatch has become a fashion accessory. Wristwatches come in all colouration and forms imaginable. One can also buy compatible watches from all fashion collection. The current watches are dominated by the correct fashion trends. Despite these different trends, there is something for every taste. The small watches, which need eyeglasses to tell the time, and the extraordinary huge watches, which make it difficult to walk upright. By all means, one thing is clear: science is still likely to make so much advance – that the wrist watch will be seen on the wrists of people for a long time, to respond to the question as to what time it is.