We know that luxury watches come with very high price tags. And we also know that they’re worth every penny. Looking at these timepieces that have been well crafted to such high standards, have you wondered who are some of the famous people associated with these luxury timepieces, the history, the anecdotes and other fascinating facts? Well here are some fun facts that might blow your mind away.
The first watch
Around 3,500 BCE, the Egyptians used the shadows the giant stone obelisks cast on the ground to tell the time of day. Each obelisk was built to tell a story. Later on, the ancient Egyptians invented the first portable timepiece. It was also a shadow clock, but you could carry it around with you. It was light weight, and about a foot long. It had a raised section in the middle. The rod was marked with 10 or 12 sections. To tell time, you pointed the end of the rod towards the east in the morning and towards the west in the afternoon. The raised center piece cast a shadow on the rod. Where the shadow fell on the markings would tell you what time it was. This creative invention is known as the ancient Egyptian shadow clock.
Women wore them first
The first wristwatches were worn by women. They were worn as a fashion accessory rather than to keep track of the time. They were first marketed as bracelets for women, while men used a pocket watch to tell the time. During World War 1, wristwatches became more and more popular as soldiers started to wear them instead of a pocket watch. During the heat of the battle and to start attacks exactly on time, it was easier to have a quick look at the wrist than to dig out a pocket watch.
Watch is the word
The word watch comes from the old English waecce, which meant to keep an eye on and be awake. This is also of course, where we get the term watchman or night watchman. Since we keep an eye on the clock, it makes sense that these two words are synonyms.
Rolex made the first waterproof watch
Rolex was the first company to create a waterproof watch in 1926. The watch, called the Oyster, had a watertight case and was sealed with rubber gaskets. In order to prove that it worked, Mercedes Gleitze wore it while swimming across the English channel.
The Swiss watch industry was almost destroyed
The affordability and rise in popularity of battery-powered, quartz-regulated watches in the late Seventies almost destroyed the Swiss watch industry, often referred to as the “Quartz Crisis” by watch aficionados.
Servicing a luxury watch could get expensive
Can you guess how much it’s going to cost you to get the service of a watch? There should be at least a service for every five years for a basic, time-only automatic watch from a big Swiss brand. And it usually costs around £200. Both the cost and turnaround time escalate quickly with complications like chronographs and perpetual calendars.
Rolex in movies
Rolex was the official watch of James Bond until Pierce Brosnan took over the role in 1995. Even better, in the search for a watch sponsor for the film American Psycho, many companies didn’t want to be associated with the film’s violent storyline. Rolex, however, agreed, only if Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) didn’t wear the watch when dismembering bodies! Rolex watches are also a firm favourite among famous athletes like Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer.
The most complicated watch – the Reference 57260
Estimated at $8 million, the Reference 57260 (named for its 57 complications and Vacheron Constantin’s 260th anniversary) was commissioned by a collector who wishes to remain anonymous. He challenged Vacheron Constantin’s Atelier Cabinotiers division to create the world’s most complicated watch, with some specific functions, including a Hebraic perpetual calendar and an unusual split-seconds chronograph, with the aim to time multiple events at once. Approximately 2 inches in diameter and crafted in an 18-karat white gold case that weighs about 2 pounds, the Vacheron watch nearly doubles the previous record for most complications in a timepiece: 33. Inside the gleaming hull reside more than 2,800 tiny mechanical components that make up the all-new movement which took nearly two of the 8 years spent to assemble. The timepiece claimed 10 new patents.
How does quartz crystal work?
You need a battery and the battery sends electricity through the quartz crystal, causing the crystal to vibrate 32,768 times per second. The electrical circuit counts the vibrations, and after 32,768 vibrations, it moves the second hand forward. This is one of the coolest facts that many aren’t aware of.
200 years of classic mechanics
The inner workings of a basic watch haven’t changed in over 200 years. A tightly wound spring powers a wheel of four gears to which the hands are attached.