![]() The 200,000 watches made in 1800 had fallen to roughly 100,000 a century later. They were followed by other illustrious names including John Arnold and more recently, George Daniels. John Harrison (1693-1776), meanwhile, solved the problem of accurately telling the time at sea and by doing so, in calculating longitude as well. Much is owed to Thomas Tompion (1639-1713), the ‘Father of English Clock-Making’ and the remarkable Thomas Mudge (1715-1794), who invented the lever escapement still used in most watches today. Probably over 60-70% of the innovation in a modern day mechanical watch has come from Britain, including every major escapement design. In 1800, half of the world's watches, around 200,000 pieces a year, were produced on British shores by British watchmakers, which is an incredible statistic. ![]() ![]() Whilst Geneva and Switzerland may be producing the vast majority of luxury wrist-watches today, this certainly wasn’t always the case. It is not completely unexpected to find that the world sets its time by Greenwich and not by Geneva. Another theory surmises that the term came from sailors in the 1600’s, who used the new mechanisms to time the length of their shipboard watches. The origin of the word "watch" suggests that it came from the old English word woecce which meant "watchman", because town watchmen used watches to keep track of their shifts. The history of watches began in 16th-century Europe, where the timepiece evolved from portable spring-driven clocks, which first appeared in the 15th century. Today men’s watches are highly sought-after collector’s items often passed down through generations but until the late 19th century, they weren’t worn by men at all. Once a rough and ready practical method of timekeeping, the wristwatch has become essential in tracking time through all aspects of life. Throughout history, men’s watches have quite literally stood the test of time and earned their position as the number one accessory of choice. ![]()
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