"Wrist Watches" Invented When? & are they legal?

[Wild Ben Raymond]

I know the long time rule has been no wrist watches allowed because there not period correct but I saw this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patek_Philippe and now not so sure! It says that; In 1868, Patek Philippe made their first wristwatch. I doubt this is going to change any rules but it does pose a interesting controvery as to why the no wrist watche rule.

[St. George]

No particular need to start a controversy, unless that's the intent, since this conversation's happened before.

The 'do-it-yourself-reference' of Wikipedia does say that they did exist.

In truth, they did - and they were prohibitively expensive - even on the Continent.

The movements didn't stand up to shock or moisture, and being on a wrist - thus 'exposed' - they suffered greatly.

The 'Hunting Case' pocket watch was much preferred, since it offered a far greater measure of protection.

Most men didn't use one on the range - they used Nature to tell them the time, but in town - it was another matter, since there were appointments to be met and time to keep in the pursuit of commerce.

Pocket watches - until the advent of the pin-lever Ingersoll - were expensive enough to where they weren't of much interest to the average working man.

The 'wrist watch' that folks try to give 'age' to is the WWI-era Lady's watch that was 'cased' in a leather cover or featuring a metal crystal guard - but those came about during the Great War, when the British Officers wanted something smaller than the issue 'turnip'.

Once they were seen by American officers in the AEF - American watchmakers started to modify the cases for a simple strap - and made crystal guards of both base metal as well as sterling - but post-war - the pocket watch remained more popular up until the advent of the Second World War.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Kaycee]

So I guess that this watch from 1889 does not count?

[Advertising]

[St. George]

Certainly looks like a Lady's watch - doesn't it?

If you want to wear it - feel free.

Explaining it to the rest of the guys on the trail drive may prove to get tedious, though.

There was a previous post to mine that said essentially the same thing - but I see it's been withdrawn.

Scouts Out!

[French Jack]

Hmmm---  wonder if they wore watches like that in "Broke Back Mountain"?   

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I wish I could afford a working version of one of those Patek Phillippe watches of 1868 (if any have survived).  I'd sure be able to sell it a buy a few new guns, eh?  Maybe a new Uberti or 2? 

[St. George]

Steel Horse,

They've survived - but are in serious collector's hands - and with what those are worth - you could buy Colt First Generations - plural...

They're the sort of thing that gets sold at auctions like Sotheby's.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Steel Horse Bailey]

That's kinda what I figured.

Maybe 3 or even 4 Ubertis. 

[Mick Archer]

  Howdy Pards!

   Speaking from a "historical perspective," sometimes it is not the invention of something, but rather when it became in commonn usage and affordable for the "common man" enough to have it in widespread use.
   And for our personal hobby choices, how "everyday,"  "common,"    "Normally, Usually, Generally (NUG), we want or like to choose to be for ourselves.

  For example "computers."

       In the 1840's while working on a mechanical calculating device called a "Difference Engine" Charles Babbage conceived the "Analytical Engine."
   Its detailed plans describe, a brass and steel, steam powered, machine that comprised; a central processor called the mill, a memory called the store, an input device that read problem data and processing instructions from punched cards, a printer for data output, and a mechanism to pass information between these various elements. Had it ever been built the Analytical Engine would have been the first general purpose, externally programmed, computer.

   However, I did not get a PC until 1989.

   "Television" debued at the 1939 World's Fair, but my family did not get one until 1954.

    And my father was still wearing button fly Army trousers in 1948.

   The basic concept of the cell phone was invented in 1947  (or 1966 if one is a STAR TREK fan), but they did not become popular until the late 1980's and early 1990's.

    Alessandro Volta in 1800  :)developed the so-called "voltaic pile," a forerunner of the electric battery, but it would be years before....

   ;-)

    Mick Archer
    Heretic Possee

[gw]

   Point well taken M.A. Thanks.




P.S.---And I always thought a voltaic pile was what you found after a herd of voltas crossed yer pasture!

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Whew - I'm off the hook!

I wuz gettin' ready ta see whut my Sawbones said about sumthin' I may have called a Voltaic Pile.  Now I don' have ta worry!   

[French Jack]

SHB--- you mean you have a case of the "Electric Hemorrhoids"------                  ;P        What's that got to do with wristwatches???     

[Major 2]

"....  Television" debued at the 1939 World's Fair, but my family did not get one until 1954 "
The electronic version

Actually, it existed in 1925 in Mechanical form... a spinning wheel  & exciter lamp.... wasn't very good though, they improved it.
But the electronic version, also primative comparied to your 1954 model, won out.

The folks got one about 1954 also , as I recall , it still worked in the early seventies.
I remember when Color came out , what a sensation it was.... we (folks) got our first color set in the mid-sixities.
Funny though, the old improved Mechanical TV was in color circa 1932.

[RattlesnakeJack]

Perhaps this will add to the wristwatch discussion ....
 

The History and Evolution of the Wristwatch    
By John E. Brozek   
© InfoQuest Publishing, Inc., 2004   
International Watch Magazine, January 2004   

Today, a wristwatch is considered as much of a status symbol as a device to tell time. In an age when cell phones and digital pagers display tiny quartz clocks, the mechanical wristwatch has slowly become less of an object of function and more a piece of modern culture.   

Walk into the boardroom of any Fortune 500 company and you’re likely to see dozens of prestigious wristwatches, including such names as Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Frank Müller, Jaeger-LeCoultre and even Patek Phillipe. However, this was not always the case. Less than 100 years ago, no self-respecting gentleman would be caught dead wearing a wristwatch. In those days of yore, real men carried pocket watches, with a gold half-hunter being the preferred status symbol of the time—no pun intended.   

Wristlets, as they were called, were reserved for women, and considered more of a passing fad than a serious timepiece. In fact, they were held in such disdain that many a gentlemen were actually quoted to say they “would sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch”.   

The established watchmaking community looked down on them as well. Because of their size, few believed wristlets could be made to achieve any level of accuracy, nor could they withstand the basic rigors of human activity. Therefore, very few companies produced them in quantity, with the vast majority of those being small ladies’ models, with delicate fixed wire or chain-link bracelets.   

This all started to change in the nineteenth century, when soldiers discovered their usefulness during wartime situations. Pocket watches were clumsy to carry and thus difficult to operate while in combat. Therefore, soldiers fitted them into primitive “cupped” leather straps so they could be worn on the wrist, thereby freeing up their hands during battle. It is believed that Girard-Perregaux equipped the German Imperial Naval with similar pieces as early as the 1880s, which they wore on their wrists while synchronizing naval attacks, and firing artillery.   

Decades later, several technological advents were credited with the British victory in the Anglo-Boer War (South Africa 1899-1902), including smokeless gunpowder, the magazine-fed rifle and even the automatic or machine gun. However, some would argue that it was a not-so-lethal device that helped turn the tide into Britain’s favor: the wristwatch.   

While the British troops were superiorly trained and equipped, they were slightly outnumbered, and at a disadvantage while attacking the Boer’s heavily entrenched positions. Thanks to these recently designed weapons, a new age of war had emerged, which, now more than ever, required tactical precision. British officers achieved success by using these makeshift wristwatches to coordinate simultaneous troop movements, and synchronize flanking attacks against the Boer’s formations.   

In fact, an “Unsolicited Testimonial” dated June 7, 1900, appeared in the 1901, Goldsmith’s Company Watch and Clock Catalog as follows:   

“… I wore it continually in South Africa on my wrist for 3 ½ months. It kept most excellent time, and never failed me.—Faithfully yours, Capt. North Staffs. Regt.”   

This testimonial appeared below an advertisement for a military pocket watch listed as The Company’s “Service” Watch, and was further described as: “The most reliable timekeeper in the World for Gentlemen going on Active Service or for rough wear.”  

[Delmonico]

Paul Harvey did a "Rest of the Story" on wrist watches a year or so ago, the gist was they were around but considered feminime.

[Dr. Bob]

gw,

Nope, it's what Dr. remove from voltas who are suffering from that disease!!

[Mick Archer]

  Howdy Pards!
 
  Volta boatmen... uhhhh!
  Volta boatmen... uhhhh!
  Yo! Heave, Ho, Yo! Heave! Ho!
  Volta boatmen... uhhhh!

   Buffalo Springfieldov
   

[Ol Gabe]

Just for the sake of discussion...
R.J.R. has it spot on, the Boer War brought out the so-called 'Wrist Watch' and it was embraced for its quality and durability by the Officer Staff, so therefore it falls under the 'Victorian Era' for our usage, m/l. OK, as others have pointed out, it wouldn't have seen much use for Cowpokes since they ran on 'Cow Time', but we all don't pretend to be Cowpokes, there are lots of R.R. Agents, clerks, bankers, etc., that would have had the wherewithal to acquire one if it became available, so it can be considered acceptable if verifiable for each personnaes location, etc.
Now, as far as the 'volt' timeline goes, during the recent decade-long incursion into Iraq, the museums housing myriads of items well-known to the scientific community but little-known to anyone else, suffered multiple disasters and blatant theft. American troops were considered the best to track down and relegate the artifacts back to the original museums over time, alas, many are lost forever, but one jar with a copper tube and wire was found and returned for awhile, its present location may be unknown. The jar with a lid that had a copper wire and was said to have contained a vinegar solution was determined to be, in fact, a 'battery' of some early form, what it 'powered' or served is probably lost to history except for interpretation. Suffice it to say, 'Voltaic' is a more modern interpretation, or scientific stumbling' as it were, onto a historical endeavor used in the 'cradle of civilization' as most historians call that part of the world we are now so deeply involved in.
Now, as far as the song goes, these are the lyrics my class sang in post-WWII Elementary Schools, the song was in all our music books, they contained popular songs from Allies around the world, obviously pre-Cold War.
The Volga Boatmans Song
(phonetically spelled)
Yo-oo, heave ho, yo-oo heave ho,
bend your shoulders to the line.
Yo-oo, heave ho, yo-oo heave ho,
bend your shoulders to the line.
Ai-dada-aidah, aidadda-aidah, bend your shoulders to the line!"
Best regards and good researching!
'Ol Gabe
P.S. Finally back on-line and in my digs after a 4-day respite due to the ice storms and power lines down all around me. It was actually kinda fun in a Cowboy way, after all a 'Country Boy can survive', but my wifey wussed out after the first night and went into Mom's, couldn't take the cold like she used to. I held down the Fort, just like the old days when we had Winter Rendezvous, only went in to town when the 'potable supplies' ran out. Restocked, warm and ready for the next storm this weekend! I pity the poor folks who may be down for another week, the Power Dudes need all our prayers folks, lost one here locally on a highline when the bucket broke and he dropped 80'. Many of the cross country power towers dropped due to icing, 30-40 miles in one place, and it will be awhile till some of our Pards are back. 

[St. George]

The 'Victorian Era' runs up until 22 January 1901 when The Queen died.

The Boer War began in October of 1899.

Given accepted cut-off dates - it sort of pushes the edges of the time frame by a few weeks.

The key here isn't the fact that they existed - it's that they didn't reach a degree of usefulness until the Boer War - on the other side of the world - on a different continent - fought nowhere near the American West.

Still and all - men preferred the pocket watch and the pocket watch was the 'standard' of the times - no matter what profession may be depicted.

In that light - it was a man's world, with its taboos and norms - and acceptance within that world was desireable, so such deviation might've been cause for derision and even uncouth comment...

To be credible, the Impression would have to have a helluva back story - complete with associated accouterments.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Mick Archer]

  Howdy Pards!

   The Iranian  (Parthian) "Batteries" found in 1936 from roughly 200 BC divides archeologists and folks.
    Asphalt completely covers the copper cylinder, electrically insulating it, so no current can be drawn without modifying the design and there are not any wires or conductors with them, nor any electrical devices associated with them.

   Pro "battery" folks say yes, they were used for electroplating precious metals such as gold onto a copper base.

   An episode of MYTHBUSTERS last year did a segment on the Parthian Batteries producing a 4 volt charge.  It was "suggested" that that might have worked to "electrify" the Ark of the Covenant....

   At any rate, "electricity" was known even earlier to the anceint Greeks.  They found that rubbing amber with wool would produce what we would call a "static" charge.  But it ended there.  They used the static "zap" much like we do, as a novelty and entertainment.
 
   It might could be said that the Greeks could have built a radio, but what would they have listened to??   

   IMHO, yes, it would be not ONLY WWI that help popularize wrist watches but WWII as well- replacing pocket watches in Mainstream Culture.

   And it was the first few Marlboro  Men in the 1950's and 1960's that helped popularize filter cigarrettes as manly and not effeminate...    

    Buffalo Springfield