Whether it is the cars we drive or the watches we wear, all of them started with an idea and a dream. Whether it was by accident or planned, there is no way that the creators of technology could have imagined that their initial designs would have blossomed into the amazing products that we have today.
The next time you look at your watch realize that Peter Henlein invented the first pocket watch in Nuremberg, Germany. It wasn't very accurate, which is sort of ironic since Germans are known for their accuracy. While this was the first portable watch, it was not the first wristwatch.
The first wristwatch was worn and created by the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal. He simply attached string to his pocket watch, and, Walla, a future industry was created. So the next time, you I look to see what time it is on your Breitling chronometer, or whatever timepiece it is that you wear, know that the foundation for it was built by a man in Germany who took his clock with him wherever he went. Even though he was probably always either too late or too early for most of his appointments, no doubt he was the talk of whatever meeting he did attend with his portable watch. So it might be safe to say he was the first person to create a buzz with the timepiece that he was carting around. Moreover, go figure a mathematician and philosopher from France who probably was just too lazy to take his pocket watch out of his pocket, created one of the largest industries in the world. Of course this is in jest and these men were pioneers of their day.
So why is it important to know the history of your designer watch and the background of watches in general? With so many watches out there to choose from it can be very confusing. Do you buy a chronometer? How does that chronometer stack up against that simple Swatch which recently caught your attention? Learn what suits your needs. Learn for what purposes those three little dials that you have never quite figured out how to use, were really intended. You probably wouldn't by a car without looking under the hood, why not do the same with your timepiece?
Now that we know who created the first watch, maybe next time we will find out which companies were the first to capitalize on it.
