Blog: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Watches

​5 Things You Didn’t Know About Watches

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Pretty much everyone has one, but how much do we know about our watches and where they came from? The clock we use to tell time has been in use for many centuries, but the men’s wristwatch we see today is a relatively new phenomenon. 
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Here are five things you might not have known about your watch:

1. The Pocket Watch Dominated for a Long Time

Wristwatches are much more recent than you might think, as the pocket watch dominated for many centuries. Pocket watches date back to the 16th century when Henry VIII himself started to wear a pocket watch. In those days, the watches only told the hour; the minute hand didn’t come in until the 17th century. 

Wristwatches were predominantly for women, with Elizabeth I thought to be one of the first wristwatch wearers. It didn’t become fashionable for men to wear wristwatches until around World War I.

2. The Most Expensive Watch Sold for $31,000,000

The most expensive watch ever sold was at a 2019 auction, where a one-off Patek Phillipe watch sold for $31,000,000. The sale, which eclipsed the previous record of $17,000,000 for a Rolex that had been owned by Paul Newman, happened at a charity auction, with proceeds going towards Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

You may not have $31 million sitting around, but there are some amazing watches like the Breitling Navitimer available if you do want to up your watch game. 

3. 4,000 Years of Telling Time

Marking time in 60-minute segments dates back all the way to 2000 BC and the Sumerians. However, one of the earliest records we have of a “timepiece” is from the Egyptians. While they didn’t spend $31 million on their watch, the stone sundial they used would have been just as sophisticated at the time. 

Watches have come a long way, but the same basic function remains. 

4. WW1

One difficulty military commanders had throughout history is how to coordinate attacks when few people had a way of accurately telling time. This limited large armies’ capabilities and the methods they could use, such as flags and trumpets, weren’t all that effective.

However, the wristwatch solved this problem during World War I, as troops were able to accurately keep time with their wristwatches, allowing for better coordination. 

5. The 10:10 Smiley Face

10:10 is seen as a default setting for clocks and watches. When you walk past jewelry shops or see watch adverts on TV, you’ll often see the watch faces are showing this time, but why is this?

There are lots of theories, including that the hands making a smiley face, but it’s likely that 10:10 is just a practical setting. Both hands are clearly visible, the watchmaker's logo is on show and framed by the hands, and the watch face is symmetrical, which people are attracted to.  

The smiley face might have some truth to it though: Timex has said that it used to set its watches at 8.20, but the hands made the watch look like it was frowning, so the company turned that frown upside down.