History of the Wristwatch: From Royalty to the Moon
The wristwatch is one of humanity’s most enduring inventions — a precision instrument that evolved from royal jewelry into a military necessity, a symbol of status, and ultimately a collector’s passion. At Experts Watches, we specialize in the vintage and pre-owned timepieces that carry this history on their dials. Here is the story of how the wristwatch came to be.
Origins: The First Wristwatches (1571–1810)
From the start, wristwatches were almost exclusively worn by women, while men used pocket watches up until the early 20th century. The concept of the wristwatch goes back to the 16th century. In 1571, Elizabeth I of England received what was described as an “arm watch” from Robert Dudley — one of the earliest recorded wristwatches in history.
It is widely believed that the world’s first purpose-made wristwatch was created by Abraham-Louis Breguet for Queen Caroline Murat of Naples in 1810. By the mid-19th century, watchmakers were producing wristwatches as jewelry — bracelet-style timepieces marketed almost exclusively to women.
The Military Era: Wristwatches Go to War (1880s–1918)
Wristwatches were first adopted by military men towards the end of the 19th century. Synchronizing battlefield maneuvers required precise timekeeping, and pulling a pocket watch from a uniform while mounted on a horse or in the heat of battle was impractical. Officers began strapping watches to their wrists using custom leather straps.
The Garstin Company of London patented a ‘Watch Wristlet’ design in 1893. Officers in the British Army began using wristwatches during colonial campaigns in the 1880s, including the Anglo-Burma War of 1885.
The First World War was the turning point. The creeping barrage artillery tactic required precise synchronization between gunners and infantry. Service watches were specially designed for trench warfare — luminous dials, unbreakable glass, robust cases. By the end of the war, almost all enlisted men wore a wristwatch. By 1930, wristwatches outnumbered pocket watches 50 to 1.
The Golden Age of Swiss Watchmaking (1900s–1960s)
In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont asked his friend Louis Cartier to design a watch he could read during flight without removing his hands from the controls. The result was the iconic Cartier Santos — one of the most recognized watch designs in history.
Hans Wilsdorf moved to London in 1905 and established Wilsdorf & Davis — the company that would become Rolex. His 1910 Rolex wristwatch became the first to receive Swiss chronometer certification, and won an award from Kew Observatory in 1914. Rolex’s sibling brand, Tudor, would later carry that same DNA into a more accessible tier of Swiss watchmaking.
In 1932, Omega introduced the world’s first commercially available diver’s watch — the beginning of a legacy that would define vintage diving watches for generations. Longines, another Swiss icon, was simultaneously advancing precision timekeeping for aviation and sport.
Patek Philippe was pioneering complications — from the first perpetual-calendar wristwatch in 1925 to minute-repeating movements — cementing its place as the pinnacle of independent Swiss horology. By the 1950s, brands like Heuer were pioneering the chronograph wristwatch — the foundation of today’s most collectible vintage pieces.
Vintage Heuer Ref. 2447 Chronograph — from our collection
Wristwatch Timeline: Key Milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1571 | Elizabeth I receives an “arm watch” from Robert Dudley |
| 1810 | Breguet creates the first purpose-made wristwatch for Queen Caroline Murat |
| 1892 | Omega introduces the world’s first minute-repeating wristwatch |
| 1904 | Cartier Santos designed for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont |
| 1905 | Wilsdorf & Davis (later Rolex) established in London |
| 1913 | Seiko creates the first Japanese wristwatch |
| 1916 | Patek Philippe introduces their first five-minute repeating complicated women’s wristwatch |
| 1917 | British War Department issues wristwatches to all soldiers |
| 1923 | John Harwood patents the self-winding wristwatch |
| 1925 | Patek Philippe invents the world’s first perpetual-calendar wristwatch |
| 1927 | Rolex Oyster crosses the English Channel on swimmer Mercedes Gleitze’s wrist |
| 1931 | Rolex introduces the perpetual rotor self-winding movement |
| 1932 | Omega launches the world’s first commercial diver’s watch |
| 1953 | Rolex launches the Submariner |
| 1957 | Omega launches the Seamaster and Speedmaster |
| 1961 | First wristwatch travels to space on Yuri Gagarin’s wrist aboard Vostok 1 |
| 1965 | Omega Speedmaster becomes the official watch of NASA |
| 1969 | Neil Armstrong walks on the moon wearing an Omega Speedmaster; Seiko launches the first quartz watch |
| 1972 | Audemars Piguet launches the Royal Oak — the first luxury sports watch in steel |
| 1976 | Patek Philippe introduces the Nautilus, defining the luxury sports watch category |
| 1983 | Swatch Group launches the Swatch — saving the Swiss watch industry |
| 1985 | Rolex Daytona ref. 6263 becomes one of the most coveted vintage chronographs |
| 1999 | Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 sells at auction for a record price, igniting the vintage watch market |
| 2017 | Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona sells for $17.75M — the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned at the time |
| 2020s | The pre-owned and vintage watch market surpasses $20B globally; authenticated CPO programs become the standard |
The Quartz Crisis: When Japan Shook Switzerland (1969–1983)
On December 25, 1969, Seiko released the Astron — the world’s first commercially available quartz wristwatch. Accurate to within 5 seconds per day (versus 30+ seconds for the best mechanical movements), it was priced at the equivalent of a small car. The Swiss watch industry dismissed it. That was a mistake.
Through the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers — Seiko, Citizen, and Casio — flooded the global market with affordable, highly accurate quartz watches. Swiss exports collapsed. Thousands of watchmakers lost their jobs. Iconic brands teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The period became known as the Quartz Crisis or Quartz Revolution, and it nearly ended 400 years of Swiss horological dominance.
The Swiss response came in 1983 with the launch of the Swatch — a colorful, affordable Swiss quartz watch designed to compete on price while rebuilding national pride. The Swatch Group consolidated struggling brands under one roof, saving Omega, Longines, Tissot, and others from collapse. It was one of the most remarkable industrial turnarounds in history.
Ironically, the Quartz Crisis created something unexpected: it made pre-1970 mechanical watches rare. Production of fine mechanical movements had plummeted. The watches that survived became the foundation of today’s vintage collector market.
Omega Speedmaster ’57 Co-Axial Chronograph — from our collection
The Mechanical Renaissance: Swiss Watchmaking Fights Back (1980s–2000s)
By the mid-1980s, something unexpected was happening. A growing number of collectors — particularly in Europe and Japan — were rediscovering mechanical watches not despite their imprecision, but because of it. A mechanical watch was a living object: gears, springs, jewels, and centuries of craft compressed into a case smaller than a coin.
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak (1972) and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus (1976) — both designed by Gerald Genta — had already redefined what a luxury sports watch could be. In steel, with integrated bracelets and bold octagonal bezels, they were unlike anything that came before. By the 1990s, they were icons. Today, they are among the most sought-after watches on the planet.
Rolex continued its dominance with the Daytona chronograph, which had been quietly produced since 1963 but exploded in collector value through the 1980s and 1990s. The reference 6263 and 6265 — especially those with exotic “Paul Newman” dials — became the holy grail of vintage watch collecting.
Heuer chronographs from the 1960s and 1970s — the Carrera, Monaco, and Autavia — found a second life as collector’s pieces, driven by their association with motorsport and icons like Steve McQueen. These are the watches that defined the golden era of the chronograph.
Vintage Swiss diving watch — the dive watch category exploded in collector value through the 1980s–2000s
The Modern Collector Era: Vintage Watches Go Global (2000s–Present)
The internet changed everything. Online auction platforms, dedicated watch forums, and later Instagram and YouTube created a global community of collectors who could research, authenticate, and trade watches across continents. What had once been a niche pursuit of European connoisseurs became a worldwide passion.
Auction records began falling with regularity. In 2017, Paul Newman’s personal Rolex Daytona — ref. 6239 with an exotic dial — sold at Phillips for $17.75 million, the highest price ever achieved for a wristwatch at auction at the time. In 2019, a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A sold for $31.19 million — a record that still stands.
The pre-owned and vintage watch market has grown into a $20+ billion global industry. Buyers increasingly prefer authenticated pre-owned timepieces over new — for value, rarity, history, and the knowledge that a well-serviced mechanical watch will outlast any battery-powered alternative by generations.
At Experts Watches, we are part of this story. Every piece in our collection is inspected, timed, and authenticated in-house through our Certified Pre-Owned program — giving collectors worldwide access to verified vintage and luxury timepieces with full confidence.
Explore Our Watch Collections
The watches that made history are the same ones collectors seek today. At Experts Watches, we carry authenticated vintage watches, vintage Rolex, vintage Omega, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Longines, vintage Heuer chronographs, and vintage diving watches — each inspected, timed, and authenticated in-house.
Watch Guides & Resources
Deepen your knowledge with our expert-curated guides:
- Full Watch Guide Library — serial number lookups, movement histories, sizing charts
- Valjoux 72 Movement Guide — the iconic chronograph caliber
- Watch Movements That Changed the World
- Rolex Serial Number Lookup
- Tudor Serial Number Lookup
- Brief History of Diving Watches
Our Certified Pre-Owned Program
Every watch at Experts Watches goes through our rigorous Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) authentication process. Each timepiece is inspected, timed, and verified by our in-house experts before it reaches you. Shop with confidence.
Sell, Trade, or Upgrade Your Watch
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📚 Explore our full library of Watch Guides — serial number lookups, sizing charts, and movement histories.
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