About Time: Switzerland and the Wristwatch
Humans didn’t invent time, obviously. But we did figure out how to measure it, and that was actually a pretty big deal, back in the day. When mechanical timekeeping replaced the sundial about 700 years ago, clocks were kept in towers in the middle of cities. But as technology gets more advanced, it gets smaller, and more commonplace. Homes soon had grandfather clocks; pockets had pocket watches, and by the dawn of the 20th century, this was all anyone really needed. Yes, wristwatches technically existed (the first ones date back to Elizabethan England), but they were never really held in high regard.
And then, World War I broke out. In 1916, when the conflict had been going on for a couple of years, the venerable New York Times published an article evaluating this trend in wearable technology, and didn’t speak to highly of the idea:
“Until recently, the bracelet watch has been looked upon by Americans as more or less of a joke,” concluding by calling it a “funmaker [and] a ‘silly ass’ fad.” (We presume ‘silly ass’ meant something different, but no less hilarious back then).
But there was a reason for the newfound popularity. Soldiers on the front had to keep close track of time to pull off difficult military operations, and wearing one of these “bracelet watches,” previously a niche pastime exclusive only to women, was a requirement for the troops.
Eventually, the idea started to catch on. By the time the war was over, the wristwatch had taken on a mystique. It was a masculine, heroic accessory. The men who wore wristwatches were the ones who made the world safe for freedom and liberty, by God. It wasn’t too much longer before the idea started a fire on both sides of the pond.
By the time the ‘20s rolled around, a veritable arms race had started. (Get it? Arms race?). The U.S., France, Germany, the U.K.—everyone was in a wristwatch making frenzy. Same was true for Switzerland.
The tiny country had a niche that it was exploiting as best it could. Early on, firms like Longines, Patek Philippe, and Rolex were producing watches in the fashion of their competitors, but at a slightly lower price—anything to stay competitive. They even came up with some cool innovations: ideas like the tourbillon added a mystique and increased accuracy to the design; clear sapphire crystals combined durability with design; and calendars and stopwatches gave increased functionality. But it wasn’t until war broke out again, when Switzerland made their move.
American watchmaking factories were being commandeered for the war effort, which was great, except for the fact that it destroyed the American watch industry. Switzerland to the rescue: from the 40s to the 60s, the country had a veritable monopoly on the American wristwatch market. Want a good watch that you don’t even need to wind? Swiss, all the way.
The success was short-lived, however. By the time the space age was in full swing, it had been discovered that certain crystals, vibrated at a certain frequency, provided unmatched accuracy in timekeeping. These “Quartz Clocks” were also much less expensive to produce than their complicated counterparts back in Switzerland. The result? The Swiss had spent so much time honing their mechanical technology, that they missed the boat. By the ‘70s, Swiss watch making was pretty much on death’s door.
Eventually, Switzerland got the hint. They intended to preserve the justified snobbery over their chronographs, but decided to take a gamble on lending their voice to technology, in as garish and absurd a way as possible. Not many people know this, but during the ‘80s, Swatch single handedly saved the country for future generations of horologists.
There have been repeated threats against wristwatches in recent years. With GPS, timekeeping is even more precise, and with younger generations (somewhat ironically) ditching the wristwatch in favor of returning their timekeeping devices to their pockets, there has been no shortage of speculation as to the future of this century-old fashion trend.
But (Apple Watch aside—we’re still on the fence), wristwatches are still big business. They remain timeless (so to speak) keepsakes, practical wearables, and devastatingly striking fashion accessories. For the time being, timekeeping remains on the wrist. After all, there’s nothing that quite soothes the spirit like the gentle ticking and deliberate weight of Swiss movement.
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