History of Watch   by Vince McLaren

in Shopping / Jewelry    (submitted 2011-03-08)

As early as 1524, the first known watch was produced by Henlien while other watches began to appear later that century and most likely with a French or German origin. The timepieces produced by the Swiss or English was only available on the market during 1575. The first watches were made up of steel that has a straight verge mechanism and then followed by brass. A balance spring was not used, but instead a spiral leaf main spring was considered which makes the watch to work inaccurately. Its face only had the firsthand or the hour hand that needs to be wind twice a day. Watchmakers tend to correct the errors by trying to use only a part of the mainspring, which produces a linear tension. However, there was only little progress indicated. A German inventor used a stack-freed to offset the difference in the spring's tension. While French and English inventor successfully fixed the error with a fusee which was used until the 19th century.

During the 16th century, timepieces were considered more of an accessory rather than a device. They come in different styles and shapes with added jewels and engravings and they are worn as necklaces or kept inside the pocket. Glass crystal as cover for the face only appeared in 1620, but its users still cannot see the time while it is on. They still need to remove the cover to see the time and wind the watch.

On the later part of the century up to the 17th, the balance spring was used , which totally changed the meaning of the watch. It can now provide accurate time with exact hour and minutes. Because of this rapid advancement, a secondhand or minute hand was added. Charles II of England started the wearing of the watch as pocket watches instead as pendant, which became a popular fashion trend by most men.

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