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{{short description|Personal timepiece}}
{{
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Casio OCEANUS OCW-S1350PC-1AJR 01.JPG|thumb|A modern wristwatch featuring solar charging and [[Bluetooth]] capabilities]]
[[File:Casio-TC500-Calculator-Watch.jpg|thumb|A 1983 [[Casio]] watch with touchscreen]]
A '''watch''' is a [[Clock|timepiece]] carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A '''wristwatch''' is worn around the [[wrist]], attached by a [[watch strap]] or another type of [[bracelet]], including metal bands or [[leather]] straps. A [[pocket watch]] is carried in a [[pocket]], often attached to a chain. A [[stopwatch]] is a type of watch that measures intervals of time.
<!--No citations are required in the article lead per [[MOS:LEADCITE]], as long as the content is cited in the article body, as it should be. Do not add missing-citation tags like {{cn}} to the lead. If necessary, {{not verified in body}} can be used, or the content removed.-->
During most of their history, beginning in the 16th century, watches were mechanical devices, driven by [[clockwork]], powered by winding a [[mainspring]], and keeping time with an oscillating [[balance wheel]]. These are known as ''[[mechanical watch]]es''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christopherward.com/blog/quartz-vs-automatic/|title=CWorld {{!}} Christopher Ward {{!}} QUARTZ VS AUTOMATIC|website=www.christopherward.com|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=27 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127110354/https://www.christopherward.com/blog/quartz-vs-automatic/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://est1897.co.uk/what-is-a-watch-movement-quartz-automatic-manual-kinetic|title=What is a Watch Movement? Quartz vs Automatic vs Manual vs Kinetic {{!}} Est.1897|website=est1897.co.uk|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127151916/https://est1897.co.uk/what-is-a-watch-movement-quartz-automatic-manual-kinetic|archive-date=27 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1960s the electronic [[quartz clock|''quartz watch'']] was invented, powered by a [[Battery (electricity)|battery]] and keeping time with a vibrating [[quartz crystal]]. By the 1980s it had taken over most of the watch market, in what became known as the [[Quartz crisis|quartz revolution]] (or the quartz crisis in Switzerland, whose [[Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry|renowned watch industry]] it decimated).<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/four-revolutions-quartz-revolution|title=Four Revolutions: Part 1: A Concise History Of The Quartz Revolution - HODINKEE|work=HODINKEE|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en|archive-date=30 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530193005/https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/four-revolutions-quartz-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-16/a-concise-history-of-the-quartz-watch-revolution|title=A Concise History of the Quartz Watch Revolution|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=16 November 2017|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=27 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127113414/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-16/a-concise-history-of-the-quartz-watch-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2010s, ''[[Smartwatch|smartwatches]]'' emerged, small wrist-worn computers with [[Touchscreen|touchscreens]] and with functions that go far beyond timekeeping.
Modern watches often display the day, date, month, and year. Mechanical watches may have extra features ("[[Complication (horology)|complications]]") such as moon-phase displays and different types of [[tourbillon]]. Quartz watches often include [[timer]]s, [[chronograph]]s, and [[Alarm clock|alarm]] functions. Smartwatches and more complicated electronic watches may even incorporate [[calculator]]s, [[GPS]]<ref name="Epson">{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/21/2814819/epson-world-lightest-gps-watch-japan|title=Epson announces world's lightest GPS watch|website=The Verge|date=21 February 2012|access-date=14 April 2012|archive-date=26 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426091156/http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/21/2814819/epson-world-lightest-gps-watch-japan|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Bluetooth]] technology or have heart-rate monitoring capabilities, and some use [[radio clock]] technology to regularly correct the time.
Most watches used mainly for timekeeping have quartz movements. But expensive [[collectible]] watches, valued more for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and glamorous design than for timekeeping, often have traditional mechanical movements, despite being less accurate and more expensive than their electronic counterparts.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-04/how-mechanical-watches-survived-after-quartz-a-concise-history|title=Mechanical Watches Almost Disappeared Forever. Here's How They Didn't|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=4 January 2018|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=18 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118004903/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-04/how-mechanical-watches-survived-after-quartz-a-concise-history|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2019, the [[List of most expensive watches sold at auction|most expensive watch ever sold at auction]] was the [[Patek Philippe]] Grandmaster Chime for US$31.2 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/patek-philippes-31-million-grandmaster-chime-becomes-most-expensive-watch-ever-sold-01573504221|title=Patek Philippe's $31 Million Grandmaster Chime Becomes Most Expensive Watch Ever Sold|date=2019-11-11|first=Laurie|last=Kahle|publisher=Barrons|access-date=2020-07-17|archive-date=17 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717113751/https://www.barrons.com/articles/patek-philippes-31-million-grandmaster-chime-becomes-most-expensive-watch-ever-sold-01573504221|url-status=live}}</ref>
== History ==
{{Main|History of watches}}
{{See also|History of timekeeping devices}}
[[File:German - Spherical Table Watch (Melanchthon's Watch) - Walters 5817 - View C.jpg|thumb|A pomander watch from 1530, which once belonged to [[Philip Melanchthon]] and is now in the [[Walters Art Museum]], [[Baltimore]]]]
=== Origins ===
Watches evolved from portable [[Mainspring|spring-driven]] clocks, which first appeared in 15th-century Europe.{{cn|date=March 2024}} The first timepieces to be worn, made in the 16th century beginning in the German cities of [[Nuremberg]] and [[Augsburg]], were transitional in size between clocks and watches.<ref>{{cite book|last=Milham|first=Willis I.|title=Time and Timekeepers|year=1945|publisher=MacMillan|___location=New York|pages=133–137|isbn=0-7808-0008-7}}</ref> [[Nuremberg]] clockmaker [[Peter Henlein]] (or Henle or Hele) (1485–1542) is often credited as the inventor of the watch.<ref name="Carlisle">{{citation
| last = Carlisle
| first = Rodney P.
| title = Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries
| publisher = John Wiley & Sons
| year = 2004
| ___location = USA
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/143 143]
| url = https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl
| url-access = registration
| quote = watch clock henlein.
| isbn = 0471244104}}</ref><ref name="Usher">{{Cite book
| last=Usher
| first=Abbot Payson
| title=A History of Mechanical Inventions
| year=1988
| publisher=Courier Dover
| pages=305
| isbn=0-486-25593-X
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xuDDqqa8FlwC&pg=PA305
| access-date=19 December 2022
| archive-date=3 July 2023
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703112708/https://books.google.com/books?id=xuDDqqa8FlwC&pg=PA305
| url-status=live
}}</ref> However, other German clockmakers were creating miniature timepieces during this period, and there is no evidence Henlein was the first.<ref name="Usher" /><ref name="Rossum">{{cite book|last=Dohrn-van Rossum|first=Gerhard|title=History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders|publisher=Univ. of Chicago Press|year=1997|pages=121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=53K32RiEigMC&pg=PA121|isbn=0-226-15510-2|access-date=23 January 2023|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703113720/https://books.google.com/books?id=53K32RiEigMC&pg=PA121|url-status=live}}</ref>
Watches were not widely worn in pockets until the 17th century. One account suggests that the word "watch" came from the [[Old English]] word ''woecce'' – which meant "watchman" – because town [[Watchman (law enforcement)|watchmen]] used the technology to keep track of their shifts at work.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title= Watch|encyclopedia= The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th Edition|volume= 4|pages= 746–747|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|year= 1983|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7iZqYfRWH_0C&q=watchmen+watch+clock+henlein|isbn= 0-85229-400-X|access-date= 3 June 2012}}</ref> Another says that the term came from 17th-century sailors, who used the new mechanisms to time the length of their shipboard [[Watch system|''watches'']] (duty shifts).<ref name="Haven">{{cite book|last= Haven|first= Kendall F.|title= 100 Greatest Science Inventions of All Time|publisher= Libraries Unlimited|year= 2006|pages= 65|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0gBwjLTUzEMC&q=sailor+watch+clock+henlein&pg=PA65|isbn= 1-59158-264-4|access-date= 29 October 2020|archive-date= 3 July 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230703114257/https://books.google.com/books?id=0gBwjLTUzEMC&q=sailor+watch+clock+henlein&pg=PA65|url-status= live}}</ref>
=== Development ===
A rise in accuracy occurred in 1657 with the addition of the [[balance spring]] to the balance wheel, an invention disputed both at the time and ever since between [[Robert Hooke]] and [[Christiaan Huygens]]. This innovation significantly improved the accuracy of watches, reducing errors from several hours a day<ref>Milham 1945, p.226</ref> to approximately 10 minutes per day,<ref name="NIST">{{cite web|year= 2004|title= A Revolution in Timekeeping|work= A Walk Through Time|publisher= [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]]|url= https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/walk-through-time/walk-through-time-revolution|access-date= 13 October 2022|archive-date= 13 October 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013184811/https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/walk-through-time/walk-through-time-revolution|url-status= live}}</ref> which led to the introduction of the [[Clock face|minute hand]] on watch faces in Britain around 1680 and in France by 1700.<ref>{{Cite book|url= http://atena.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=13458392&search_terms=DTL59|title= Acta Eruditorum|year= 1737|___location= Leipzig|pages= 123|access-date= 5 June 2018|archive-date= 3 July 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230703114222/http://atena.beic.it/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=13458392.xml&dvs=1688384463351~191&locale=en_US&search_terms=DTL59&show_metadata=true&adjacency=&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/nmets.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=7&divType=|url-status= live}}</ref>
The increased accuracy of the balance wheel focused attention on errors caused by other parts of the [[movement (clockwork)|movement]], igniting a two-century wave of watchmaking innovation. The first thing to be improved was the [[escapement]]. The verge escapement was replaced in quality watches by the [[cylinder escapement]], invented by [[Thomas Tompion]] in 1695 and further developed by [[George Graham (clockmaker)|George Graham]] in the 1720s. Improvements in manufacturing – such as the tooth-cutting machine devised by [[Robert Hooke]] – allowed some increase in the volume of watch production, although finishing and assembling was still done by hand until well into the 19th century.
[[File:Blancpain_logo.svg|right|thumb|Founded in 1735, [[Blancpain]] is the oldest registered watch brand in the world.]]
A major cause of error in balance-wheel timepieces, caused by changes in [[Elasticity (physics)|elasticity]] of the [[balance spring]] from temperature changes, was solved by the bimetallic [[Balance wheel|temperature-compensated balance wheel]] invented in 1765 by [[Pierre Le Roy]] and improved by [[Thomas Earnshaw]] (1749–1829). The [[lever escapement]], the single most important technological breakthrough, though invented by [[Thomas Mudge (horologist)|Thomas Mudge]] in 1754<ref name="The Tourbillon Chronicles">{{cite web |last1=Forster |first1=Jack |title=The Tourbillon Chronicles: Birth Of The Tourbillon |url=https://www.the1916company.com/blog/tourbillon-origins.html |website=www.the1916company.com |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> and improved by Josiah Emery in 1785,<ref name="Timeline of Clocks and Watches">{{cite web |title=Timeline of Clocks and Watches |url=http://www.historyofwatch.com/clock-history/clock-timeline/ |website=History of Watch |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> only gradually came into use from about 1800 onwards, chiefly in Britain.<ref name="Neha S. Bajpai">{{cite web |last1=Bajpai |first1=Neha S. |title=An introduction to British watchmaking |url=https://wristcheck.com/discover/watch-101/an-introduction-to-british-watchmaking |website=WristCheck |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Acta Eruditorum - II orologi, 1737 – BEIC 13458392.jpg|thumb|A watch drawn in ''[[Acta Eruditorum]]'', 1737]]
The British predominated in watch manufacture for much of the 17th and 18th centuries, but maintained a system of production that was geared towards high-quality products for the élite.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cVUSauNST8EC&q=British+Watch+Company+mass+production|title= Manufacturing Time: Global Competition in the Watch Industry, 1795–2000|author= Glasmeier, Amy|year= 2000|publisher= Guilford Press|isbn= 9781572305892|access-date= 7 February 2013|archive-date= 3 July 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230703113711/https://books.google.com/books?id=cVUSauNST8EC&q=British+Watch+Company+mass+production|url-status= live}}</ref> The British Watch Company modernized clock manufacture with [[mass-production]] techniques and the application of duplicating tools and machinery in 1843. In the [[United States]], [[Aaron Lufkin Dennison]] started a factory in 1851 in [[Massachusetts]] that used [[interchangeable parts]], and by 1861 a successful enterprise operated, incorporated as the [[Waltham Watch Company]].<ref name="Roe1916">{{citation | last = Roe | first = Joseph Wickham | title = English and American Tool Builders | publisher = Yale University Press | year = 1916 | ___location = New Haven, Connecticut | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ | lccn = 16011753 | access-date = 12 November 2015 | archive-date = 3 July 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230703113712/https://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ | url-status = live }}. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 ({{LCCN|27024075}}); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois, ({{ISBN|978-0-917914-73-7}}).</ref>
=== Wristwatches ===
[[File:Wrist Watch WWI.jpg|thumb|upright|Early wristwatch by [[Waltham Watch Company|Waltham]] with a metal shrapnel guard over the crystal, worn by soldiers in World War I ([[German Clock Museum]])]]
[[File:Campaign Watch 1915.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Mappin & Webb]]'s campaign wristwatch, advertised as having been in production since 1898]]
The concept of the wristwatch goes back to the production of the very earliest watches in the 16th century. In 1571, [[Elizabeth I]] of England received a wristwatch, described as an "armed watch", from [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Robert Dudley]].<ref name="Bruton183" /> 17th century French mathematician [[Blaise Pascal]] is said to have worn a watch on his left-wrist.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Caws |first1=Mary Ann |title=Blaise Pascal: Miracles and Reason |date=2017 |publisher=Reaktion Books |page=147}}</ref> The oldest surviving wristwatch (then described as a "bracelet watch") is one made in 1806, and given to [[Joséphine de Beauharnais]].<ref name="Bruton183">{{cite book |last=Bruton |first=Eric |date=2000 |title=The History of Clocks & Watches |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |page=183 |isbn=0316853550}}</ref> From the beginning, wristwatches were almost exclusively worn by women – men used pocket watches up until the early 20th century.<ref name="Evolu">{{cite web |title=The Evolution of the Wristwatch |url= http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/wristwatches.html |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131208200615/http://vintagewatchstraps.com/wristwatches.html |archive-date= 8 December 2013 |url-status= dead}}</ref> In 1810, the watch-maker [[Abraham-Louis Breguet]] made a wristwatch for the Queen of Naples.<ref>{{cite web |title=First wristwatch |publisher=Breguet |url=https://www.breguet.com/en/history/inventions/first-wristwatch |access-date=30 December 2020 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201124233618/https://www.breguet.com/en/history/inventions/first-wristwatch |url-status=live}}</ref> The first Swiss wristwatch was made in the year 1868 by the Swiss watch-maker [[Patek Philippe]] for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Company | History |publisher=Patek Philippe |url=https://www.patek.com/en/company/history#1839-1877 |access-date=30 December 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120728122613/http://www.patek.ch/contents/default/en/timeline.html#1839-1877 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Belcher |first1=David |title=Wrist Watches: From Battlefield to Fashion Accessory |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 October 2013 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/fashion/wrist-watches-from-battlefield-to-fashion-accessory.html#:~:text=The%20first%20wristwatch%20was%20made,not%20so%20easy%20to%20pinpoint. |access-date=30 December 2020 |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211023111346/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/fashion/wrist-watches-from-battlefield-to-fashion-accessory.html#:~:text=The%20first%20wristwatch%20was%20made,not%20so%20easy%20to%20pinpoint. |url-status=live}}</ref>
Wristwatches were first worn by military men towards the end of the 19th century, having increasingly recognized the importance of synchronizing maneuvers during war without potentially revealing plans to the enemy through signaling. The Garstin Company of [[London]] patented a "Watch Wristlet" design in 1893, but probably produced similar designs from the 1880s. Officers in the [[British Army]] began using wristwatches during colonial military campaigns in the 1880s, such as during the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War|Anglo-Burma War]] of 1885.<ref name="Evolu" /> During the [[First Boer War]] of 1880–1881, the importance of coordinating troop movements and synchronizing attacks against highly mobile Boer insurgents became paramount, and the use of wristwatches subsequently became widespread among the [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] class. The company [[Mappin & Webb]] began production of their successful "campaign watch" for soldiers during the [[Battle of Omdurman|campaign in the Sudan in 1898]] and accelerated production for the [[Second Boer War]] of 1899–1902 a few years later.<ref name="Evolu" /> In continental Europe, [[Girard-Perregaux]] and other Swiss watchmakers began supplying German naval officers with wristwatches in about 1880.<ref name=Bruton183 />
Early models were essentially standard pocket-watches fitted to a leather strap, but by the early 20th century, manufacturers began producing purpose-built wristwatches. The Swiss company [[Dimier]] Frères & Cie patented a wristwatch design with the now standard wire lugs in 1903. In 1904, [[Louis Cartier]] produced a wristwatch to allow his friend [[Alberto Santos-Dumont]] to check flight performance in his airship while keeping both hands on the controls as this proved difficult with a pocket watch.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.interwatches.com/cartier-history |title=The History of Cartier |publisher=InterWatches |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160826050741/https://www.interwatches.com/cartier-history |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"Aviation Pioneer Scored A First in Watch-Wearing." ''[[The New York Times]]'', 25 October 1975. Retrieved: 21 July 2009.</ref><ref>''100 Designs/100 Years: A Celebration of the 20th Century'' (aka ''100 Designs/100 Years: Innovative Designs of the 20th Century'') (with Arlette Barré-Despond), Hove, UK: RotoVision, 1999 | {{ISBN|2-88046-442-0}}</ref> Cartier still markets a line of Santos-Dumont watches and sunglasses.<ref name="Cartier_sun">Cartier sunglasses. [http://www.cartier.com/show-me/accessories/t8200853-santos-dumont-rimmed-sunglasses#/show-me/accessories/t8200853-santos-dumont-rimmed-sunglasses "Cartier rimmed sunglasses" (English).] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120806200550/http://www.cartier.com/show-me/accessories/t8200853-santos-dumont-rimmed-sunglasses#/show-me/accessories/t8200853-santos-dumont-rimmed-sunglasses |date=6 August 2012}} cartier.com. Retrieved: 9 December 2012.</ref>
[[File:Vacheron Constantin Patrimony gold watch.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Vacheron Constantin]] patrimony wristwatch]]
In 1905, [[Hans Wilsdorf]] moved to London, and set up his own business, Wilsdorf & Davis, with his brother-in-law Alfred Davis, providing quality timepieces at affordable prices; the company became [[Rolex]] in 1915.<ref>Rolex Jubilee Vade Mecum published by the Rolex Watch Company in 1946.</ref> Wilsdorf was an early convert to the wristwatch, and contracted the Swiss firm Aegler to produce a line of wristwatches.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.qualitytyme.net/pages/rolex_articles/history_of_wristwatch.html |title=The History and Evolution of the Wristwatch |first=John E. |last=Brozek |publisher=International Watch Magazine |access-date=4 March 2011 |archive-date=11 June 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100611233904/http://qualitytyme.net/pages/rolex_articles/history_of_wristwatch.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
The impact of the [[First World War]] of 1914–1918 dramatically shifted public perceptions on the propriety of the man's wristwatch and opened up a mass market in the postwar era.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Choi |first=David |title=WWI vets popularized the most important accessory in a gentleman's wardrobe |website=Business Insider |date=May 2016 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/watches-after-wwi-the-male-accessory-2016-5 |access-date=2021-06-24 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210624210507/https://www.businessinsider.com/watches-after-wwi-the-male-accessory-2016-5 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[creeping barrage]] artillery tactic, developed during the war, required precise synchronization between the artillery gunners and the infantry advancing behind the barrage. Service watches produced during the war were specially designed for the rigors of [[trench warfare]], with luminous dials and unbreakable glass. The UK [[War Office]] began issuing wristwatches to combatants from 1917.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoffman |first=Paul |year=2004 |title=Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight |publisher=Hyperion Press |url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/wingsofmadnessal0000hoff |isbn=0-7868-8571-8}}</ref> By the end of the war, almost all enlisted men wore a wristwatch (or [[Trench watch|wristlet]]), and after they were demobilized, the fashion soon caught on: the British [[British Horological Institute|''Horological Journal'']] wrote in 1917, that "the wristlet watch was little used by the sterner sex before the war, but now is seen on the wrist of nearly every man in uniform and of many men in civilian attire."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ordnance Maintenance Wrist Watches, Pocket Watches, Stop Watches and Clocks |year=1945 |publisher=Read Books Ltd. |isbn=978-1-5287-6620-3 |access-date=9 September 2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2DxDwAAQBAJ&q=the+wristlet+watch+was+little+used+by+the+sterner+sex+before+the+war%2C+but+now+is+seen+on+the+wrist+of+nearly+every+man+in+uniform+and+of+many+men+in+civilian+attire&pg=PP4 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230703114726/https://books.google.com/books?id=J2DxDwAAQBAJ&q=the+wristlet+watch+was+little+used+by+the+sterner+sex+before+the+war%2C+but+now+is+seen+on+the+wrist+of+nearly+every+man+in+uniform+and+of+many+men+in+civilian+attire&pg=PP4 |url-status=live}}</ref> By 1930, the wristwatch vastly exceeded the pocket watch in market share by a decisive ratio of 50:1.{{fact|date=May 2025}}
==== Automatic watches ====
[[John Harwood (watchmaker)|John Harwood]] invented the first successful [[self-winding watch|self-winding]] system in 1923. In anticipation of Harwood's patent for self-winding mechanisms expiry in 1930, [[Glycine Watch SA|Glycine]] founder Eugène Meylan started development on a self-winding system as a separate module that could be used with almost any 8.75 ligne (19.74 millimeter) watch movement. Glycine incorporated this module into its watches in October 1930, and began mass-producing automatic watches.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |last=Foskett |first=Stephen |date=2021-07-19 |title=Eugène Meylan, Glycine, and the Fight Over the First Automatic Watch |website=Grail Watch |url= https://grail-watch.com/2021/07/19/eugene-meylan-glycine-and-the-fight-over-the-first-automatic-watch/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701144634/https://grail-watch.com/2021/07/19/eugene-meylan-glycine-and-the-fight-over-the-first-automatic-watch/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
==== Electric watches ====
The [[Elgin National Watch Company]] and the [[Hamilton Watch Company]] pioneered the first [[electric watch]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hamilton Electric: the Race to Create the World's First Battery-Powered Watch |website=wornandwound.com |date=31 May 2018 |url= https://wornandwound.com/hamilton-electric-the-race-to-create-the-worlds-first-battery-powered-watch/ |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220702135356/https://wornandwound.com/hamilton-electric-the-race-to-create-the-worlds-first-battery-powered-watch/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The first electric movements used a battery as a power source to oscillate the balance wheel. During the 1950s, Elgin developed the model 725, while Hamilton released two models: the first, the Hamilton 500, released on 3 January 1957, was produced into 1959. This model had problems with the contact wires misaligning, and the watches returned to Hamilton for alignment. The Hamilton 505, an improvement on the 500, proved more reliable: the contact wires were removed and a non-adjustable contact on the balance assembly delivered the power to the balance wheel. Similar designs from many other watch companies followed. Another type of electric watch was developed by the [[Bulova]] company that used a tuning-fork resonator instead of a traditional balance wheel to increase timekeeping accuracy, moving from a typical 2.5–4 Hz with a traditional balance wheel to 360 Hz with the tuning-fork design.
====Quartz watches====
The commercial introduction of the [[quartz watch]] in 1969 in the form of the Seiko [[Astron (wristwatch)|Astron 35SQ]], and in 1970 in the form of the Omega [[Omega Electroquartz|Beta 21]] was a revolutionary improvement in watch technology. In place of a balance wheel, which oscillated at perhaps 5 or 6 beats per second, these devices used a [[crystal oscillator|quartz-crystal]] [[resonator]], which vibrated at 8,192 Hz, driven by a battery-powered [[Electronic oscillator|oscillator circuit]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Frei |first=Armin H. |title=First-Hand: The First Quartz Wrist Watch |publisher=Engineering and Technology History Wiki (ETHW) |date=6 February 2020 |url= https://ethw.org/First-Hand:The_First_Quartz_Wrist_Watch |access-date=5 December 2021 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211205074716/https://ethw.org/First-Hand:The_First_Quartz_Wrist_Watch |url-status=live}}</ref> Most quartz-watch oscillators now operate at 32,768 Hz, though quartz movements have been designed with frequencies as high as 262 kHz. Since the 1980s, more quartz watches than mechanical ones have been marketed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mondschein |first=Kenneth C. |title=On Time: A History of Western Timekeeping |pages=166 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |date=2020-09-15 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Hgb5DwAAQBAJ&dq=%221980s%22,+more+%22quartz+watches%22+than+mechanical+ones+have+been+marketed&pg=PA166 |isbn=978-1-4214-3827-6}}</ref>
==== Smart watches ====
The [[Timex Datalink|Timex Datalink wristwatch]] was introduced in 1994.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Farion |first=Christine |title=The Ultimate Guide to Informed Wearable Technology: A hands-on approach for creating wearables from prototype to purpose using Arduino systems |pages=6 |date=2022-10-31 |publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qnqWEAAAQBAJ&dq=The+Timex+Datalink+wristwatch+,+was+introduced+in+1994&pg=PA6 |isbn=978-1-80324-447-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Research & Development |date=1995-07-01 |publisher=Technical Publishing Company |___location=Chicago |pages=24 |volume=37 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ8oAQAAMAAJ&q=The+Timex+Datalink+wristwatch+,+was+introduced+in+1994 |format=Information not visible in web-based source.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Timex and Microsoft Team Up on a Watch |work=BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY |agency=Reuters |publisher=The New York Times |page=5 |date=1994-06-22 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/22/business/business-technology-timex-and-microsoft-team-up-on-a-watch.html |accessdate=2024-10-01}}</ref> The early Timex Datalink Smartwatches realized a wireless data transfer mode to receive data from a PC. Since then, many companies have released their own iterations of a smartwatch, such as the [[Apple Watch]], [[Samsung Galaxy Watch]], and [[Huawei Watch]].
==== Hybrid watches ====
A hybrid smartwatch is a fusion between a regular mechanical watch and a smartwatch.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics |date=1980-09-01 |publisher=Academic Press |pages=257 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOiBwXJvkVwC&dq=%22Hybrid+watches%22&pg=PA257 |isbn=978-0-08-057716-6}}</ref>
== Parts ==
The movement and case are the basic parts of a watch. A [[watch band]] or bracelet is added to form a wristwatch; alternatively, a [[watch chain]] is added to form a pocket watch.<ref>United States International Trade Commission.
[https://books.google.com/books?id=_DBzHzS07mgC "Report to the Committee on Ways and Means on Watches and Parts Therefor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426210458/https://books.google.com/books?id=_DBzHzS07mgC |date=26 April 2023 }}.
1977.
p. 3</ref>
The case is the outer covering of the watch.
The case back is the back portion of the watch's case. Accessing the movement (such as during battery replacement) depends on the type of case back, which are generally categorized into four types:
* Snap-off case backs (press-on case backs): the watch back pulls straight off and presses straight on.
* Screw-down case backs (threaded case backs): the entire watch back must be rotated to unscrew from the case. Often it has 6 notches on the external part of the case back.
* Screw back cases: tiny screws hold the case back to the case
* Unibody: the only way into the case involves prying the crystal off the front of the watch.
The crystal, also called the window or watch glass, is the transparent part of the case that allows viewing the hands and the dial of the movement.
Modern wristwatches almost always use one of 4 materials:<ref>[https://aarniwood.com/mineral-glass-or-sapphire-crystal/ "Mineral or Sapphire Glass – What is the Difference Between Watch Glasses?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926105620/https://aarniwood.com/mineral-glass-or-sapphire-crystal/ |date=26 September 2022 }}.</ref>
* Acrylic glass ([[plexiglass]], hesalite glass): the most impact-resistant ("unbreakable"<ref>"Unbreakable Crystals"
section of
[https://books.google.com/books?id=ldt4EAAAQBAJ "A General History of Horology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327112540/https://books.google.com/books?id=ldt4EAAAQBAJ |date=27 March 2023 }}.
2022.
p. 486</ref><ref>Oren Hartov.
[https://wornandwound.com/military-watches-of-the-world-great-britain-part-1-the-boer-war-through-the-second-world-war/ "Military Watches of the World: Great Britain Part 1—The Boer War Through The Second World War"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926105616/https://wornandwound.com/military-watches-of-the-world-great-britain-part-1-the-boer-war-through-the-second-world-war/ |date=26 September 2022 }}.</ref>), and therefore used in dive watches and most [[US military watches|military watches]]. Acrylic glass is the lowest cost of these materials, so it is used in practically all low-cost watches.
* Mineral crystal: a [[tempered glass]].
* Sapphire-coated mineral crystal
* [[Synthetic sapphire]] crystal: the most scratch-resistant; it is difficult to cut and polish, causing watch crystals made of sapphire to be the most expensive.
The bezel is the ring holding the crystal in place.<ref name="fogle" >Katelyn Fogle.
[https://www.jewelersmutual.com/the-jewelry-box/10-parts-watch-you-should-actually-know "10 Parts of a Watch You Should Actually Know"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023111227/https://www.jewelersmutual.com/the-jewelry-box/10-parts-watch-you-should-actually-know |date=23 October 2021 }}.</ref>
The lugs are small metal projections at both ends of the wristwatch case where the watch band attaches to the watch case.<ref name="fogle" />
The case and the lugs are often machined from one solid piece of stainless steel.<ref>Japan Clock & Watch Association.
[https://www.jcwa.or.jp/en/time/qa/qa03.html "What are the part names of watches?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926105616/https://www.jcwa.or.jp/en/time/qa/qa03.html |date=26 September 2022 }}.</ref>
== Movement ==
[[File:Watch Mechanical Quartz Comparison.jpg|thumb|Different kinds of movements move the hands differently as shown in this 2-second exposure. The left watch has a [[24-hour analog dial]] with a mechanical 1/6s "sweep" movement, while the right one has a more common 12-hour dial and a "1s" [[Quartz clock|quartz]] movement.]]
[[File:000 0rysdf251 edited.jpg|thumb|A Russian mechanical watch movement with [[exhibition case back]], showing its movement.]]
[[File:Montre mysterieuse-IMG 4639.jpg|thumb|A so-called [[mystery watch]], it is the first transparent watch,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ahsoc.contentfiles.net/media/assets/file/Juan_Deniz_-_The_first_transparent_watch_wm6.pdf |title=Juan F. Déniz, The first transparent watch. Antiquarian Horology Journal |access-date=7 April 2018 |archive-date=16 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316214832/http://ahsoc.contentfiles.net/media/assets/file/Juan_Deniz_-_The_first_transparent_watch_wm6.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> c. 1890. The movement is fitted with a cylinder escapement.]]
The [[movement (clockwork)|movement]] of a watch is the mechanism that measures the passage of time and displays the current time (and possibly other information including date, month, and day).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wu-6Led6dEMC&dq=The+movement+of+a+watch+is+the+mechanism+that+measures+the+passage+of+time+and+displays+the+current+time&pg=PA723 |title=Silicon Compounds—Advances in Research and Application: 2013 Edition |date=2013-06-21 |publisher=ScholarlyEditions |isbn=978-1-4816-9238-0 |pages=723 |language=en}}</ref> Movements may be entirely mechanical, entirely electronic (potentially with no moving parts), or they might be a blend of both. Most watches intended mainly for timekeeping today have electronic movements, with mechanical hands on the [[watch face]] indicating the time.
=== Mechanical ===
{{Main|Mechanical watch}}
Compared to electronic movements, mechanical watches are less accurate, often with errors of seconds per day; are sensitive to position, temperature,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.tagheuer.com/#/temperature|title=Temperature|work=Advice on Your Timepiece|publisher=Tag Heuer|access-date=4 March 2011|archive-date=3 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303150149/http://us.tagheuer.com/#/temperature|url-status=live}}</ref> and magnetism;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.tagheuer.com/#/magnetism|title=Magnetism|work=Advice on Your Timepiece|publisher=Tag Heuer|access-date=4 March 2011|archive-date=3 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303150149/http://us.tagheuer.com/#/magnetism|url-status=live}}</ref> are costly to produce; require regular maintenance and adjustments; and are more prone to failures. Nevertheless, mechanical watches attract interest from consumers, particularly among watch collectors. [[Skeleton watch]]es are designed to display the mechanism for aesthetic purposes.
A mechanical movement uses an [[escapement]] mechanism to control and limit the unwinding and winding parts of a spring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release. The movement also uses a [[balance wheel]], together with the [[balance spring]] (also known as a hairspring), to control the gear system's motion in a manner analogous to the [[pendulum]] of a [[pendulum clock]]. The [[tourbillon]], an optional part for mechanical movements, is a rotating frame for the escapement, used to cancel out or reduce [[gravity|gravitational]] bias. Due to the complexity of designing a tourbillon, they are expensive, and typically found in prestigious watches.
The [[pin-lever escapement]] (called the Roskopf movement after its inventor, [[Georges Frederic Roskopf]]), which is a cheaper version of the fully levered movement, was manufactured in huge quantities by many Swiss manufacturers, as well as by [[Timex Group USA|Timex]], until it was replaced by quartz movements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musketeer.ch/Bilder/uhr_bild/RoskAnker.jpg |title=The original pin-pallet |access-date=27 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205103752/http://www.musketeer.ch/Bilder/uhr_bild/RoskAnker.jpg |archive-date=5 February 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musketeer.ch/watches/roskopf.html |title=The Roskopf Watch |publisher=Musketeer.ch |access-date=27 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401150312/http://www.musketeer.ch/watches/roskopf.html |archive-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.watkinsr.id.au/buffat.html|title=Buffat The Roskopf watch|website=Watkinsr.id.au|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-date=12 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312204219/http://watkinsr.id.au/buffat.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Introduced by [[Bulova]] in 1960, [[Electric watch#Types of electric watches|tuning-fork watches]] use a type of electromechanical movement with a precise frequency (most often {{nowrap|360 Hz}}) to drive a mechanical watch. The task of converting electronically pulsed fork vibration into rotary movements is done via two tiny jeweled fingers, called pawls. Tuning-fork watches were rendered obsolete when electronic quartz watches were developed.
Traditional mechanical watch movements use a spiral spring called a [[mainspring]] as its power source that must be rewound periodically by the user by turning the watch crown. Antique pocket watches were wound by inserting a key into the back of the watch and turning it. While most modern watches are designed to run {{nowrap|40 hours}} on a winding, requiring winding daily, some run for several days; a few have 192-hour mainsprings, requiring once-weekly winding.
==== Automatic watches ====
{{Main|Automatic watch}}
[[File:Jaeger-Lecoultre-p1000838.jpg|thumb|[[Automatic watch]]: An eccentric weight, called a rotor, swings with the movement of the wearer's body and winds the spring.]]
[[File:Grand Seiko Automatic Hi-Beat.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Grand Seiko]] Automatic watch]]
A ''self-winding'' or ''automatic'' watch is one that rewinds the mainspring of a mechanical movement by the natural motions of the wearer's body. The first self-winding mechanism was invented for pocket watches in 1770 by Abraham-Louis Perrelet,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/encyclopedie/index-encyclopedique/lhorlogerie-dans-le-monde/lhorlogerie-europeenne-en-chine-watches-wonders/ | title=Watchmaking in Europe and China: Watches & Wonders | work=[[Richemont]] | publisher=Worldtempus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011232012/http://www.worldtempus.com/fr/encyclopedie/index-encyclopedique/lhorlogerie-dans-le-monde/lhorlogerie-europeenne-en-chine-watches-wonders/ |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref> but the first "[[self-winding watch|self-winding]]", or "automatic", wristwatch was the invention of a British watch repairer named [[John Harwood (watchmaker)|John Harwood]] in 1923. This type of watch winds itself without requiring any special action by the wearer. It uses an eccentric weight, called a winding rotor, which rotates with the movement of the wearer's wrist. The back-and-forth motion of the winding rotor couples to a [[ratchet (device)|ratchet]] to wind the mainspring automatically. Self-winding watches usually can also be wound manually to keep them running when not worn or if the wearer's wrist motions are inadequate to keep the watch wound.
In April 2013, the [[Swatch Group]] launched the ''sistem51'' wristwatch. It has a mechanical movement consisting of only 51 parts,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/technik-motor/swatch-bringt-bunte-sistem51-auf-den-markt-13003950.html|title=Vollautomatisch vom Band|author=Monika Schramm|language=de|date=29 June 2014|website=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|access-date=24 September 2024}}</ref> including 19 [[jewel bearing|jewels]] and a novel self-winding mechanism with a transparent oscillating weight.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watchtime.com/blog/monochrome-monday-our-review-of-the-swatch-sistem51/|title=Reviewing the Swatch Sistem51|author=Brice Goulard|website=WatchTime|date=4 May 2016|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> Ten years after its introduction, it is still the only mechanical movement manufactured entirely on a fully automated assembly line, including adjustment of the balance wheel and the escapement for accuracy by [[laser]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uhrenkosmos.com/swatch-sistem51-werk-und-konstruktionsweise/|title=Swatch Sistem51 – ein Uhrwerk mit System|author=Gisbert L. Brunner|language=de|date=19 October 2023|website=uhrenkosmos.com|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> The low parts count and the fully automated assembly make it an inexpensive automatic Swiss watch.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/exclusive-hands-on-look-at-the-swatch-sistem51|title=An Exclusive Look At The Swatch Sistem51, A Revolutionary Mechanical Watch|author=Stephen Pulvirent|website=hodinkee.com|date=30 April 2013|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref>
=== Electronic ===
{{See also|Electric watch|Quartz clock}}
[[File:Csem-beta1.jpg|thumb|upright|First quartz wristwatch BETA 1 developed by CEH, Switzerland, 1967]]
Electronic movements, also known as quartz movements, have few or no moving parts, except a [[quartz]] [[crystal]] which is made to vibrate by the [[piezoelectric effect]]. A varying electric voltage is applied to the crystal, which responds by changing its shape so, in combination with some electronic components, it functions as an [[quartz oscillator|oscillator]]. It [[resonance|resonates]] at a specific highly stable frequency, which is used to accurately pace a timekeeping mechanism. Most quartz movements are primarily electronic but are geared to drive mechanical hands on the face of the watch to provide a traditional analog display of the time, a feature most consumers still prefer.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
In 1959 [[Seiko]] placed an order with [[Epson]] (a subsidiary company of Seiko and the 'brain' behind the quartz revolution) to start developing a quartz wristwatch. The project was codenamed 59A. By the [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics]], Seiko had a working prototype of a portable quartz watch which was used as the time measurements throughout the event.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
The first prototypes of an electronic quartz wristwatch (not just {{em|portable}} quartz watches as the Seiko timekeeping devices at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964) were made by the CEH research laboratory in [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland. From 1965 through 1967 pioneering development work was done on a miniaturized 8192 Hz quartz oscillator, a thermo-compensation module, and an in-house-made, dedicated integrated circuit (unlike the hybrid circuits used in the later Seiko Astron wristwatch). As a result, the BETA 1 prototype set new timekeeping performance records at the International Chronometric Competition held at the [[Observatory of Neuchâtel]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ethw.org/Milestones:Pioneering_Work_on_the_Quartz_Electronic_Wristwatch,_1962-1967 |title=Milestones: Pioneering Work on the Quartz Electronic Wristwatch, 1962–1967 |date=31 December 2015 |publisher=ETHW |access-date=4 December 2021 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204234636/http://ethw.org/Milestones:Pioneering_Work_on_the_Quartz_Electronic_Wristwatch,_1962-1967 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1970, 18 manufacturers exhibited production versions of the beta 21 wristwatch, including the [[Omega Electroquartz]] as well as [[Patek Philippe]], [[Rolex Oysterquartz]] and [[Piaget SA|Piaget]].
[[File:Seiko 35A.jpg|thumb|Quartz Movement of the Seiko [[Astron (wristwatch)|Astron]], 1969 (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Inv. 2010-006)]]
The first quartz watch to enter production was the [[Seiko]] [[Astron (wristwatch)|35 SQ Astron]], which hit the shelves on 25 December 1969, swiftly followed by the Swiss Beta 21, and then a year later the prototype of one of the world's most accurate wristwatches to date: the [[Omega Marine Chronometer]]. Since the technology having been developed by contributions from Japanese, American and Swiss,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ieee-uffc.org/main/history/step.pdf |title=In the late 1960s teams of engineers working independently in Japan, Switzerland, and the United States used newly created electronic components to completely reinvent the wristwatch. |publisher=IEEE |date=2000 |access-date=7 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013191116/http://www.ieee-uffc.org/main/history/step.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> nobody could patent the whole movement of the quartz wristwatch, thus allowing other manufacturers to participate in the rapid growth and development of the quartz watch market. This ended – in less than a decade – almost 100 years of dominance by the mechanical wristwatch legacy. Modern quartz movements are produced in very large quantities, and even the cheapest wristwatches typically have quartz movements. Whereas mechanical movements can typically be off by several seconds a day, an inexpensive quartz movement in a child's wristwatch may still be accurate to within half a second per day – ten times more accurate than a mechanical movement.<ref>Quartz mechanisms usually have a resonant frequency of 32768 Hz, chosen for ease of use (being 2<sup>15</sup>). Using a simple 15 stage divide-by-two circuit, this is turned into a 1 pulse per second signal responsible for the watch's timekeeping.</ref>
After a consolidation of the mechanical watch industry in Switzerland during the 1970s, mass production of quartz wristwatches took off under the leadership of the [[Swatch Group]] of companies, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products. For quartz wristwatches, subsidiaries of Swatch manufacture [[Watch battery|watch batteries]] ([[Renata (battery)|Renata]]), oscillators ([[Oscilloquartz]], now Micro Crystal AG) and integrated circuits (Ebauches Electronic SA, renamed [[EM Microelectronic-Marin]]). The launch of the new [[Swatch|SWATCH]] brand in 1983 was marked by bold new styling, design, and marketing. Today, the Swatch Group maintains its position as the world's largest watch company.
[[Seiko]]'s efforts to combine the quartz and mechanical movements bore fruit after 20 years of research, leading to the introduction of the Seiko [[Spring Drive]], first in a limited domestic market production in 1999 and to the world in September 2005. The Spring Drive keeps time within quartz standards without the use of a battery, using a traditional mechanical gear train powered by a spring, without the need for a balance wheel either.
In 2010, [[Miyota (watch movement manufacturer)|Miyota]] ([[Citizen Watch]]) of [[Japan]] introduced a newly developed movement that uses a 3-pronged quartz crystal that was exclusively produced for [[Bulova]] to be used in the Precisionist or Accutron II line, a new type of quartz watch with ultra-high frequency (262.144 kHz) which is claimed to be accurate to +/− 10 seconds a year and has a smooth sweeping second hand rather than one that jumps each second.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/23/bulova-introduces-the-most-accurate-watch-in-the-world-the-precisionist/ |title=Bulova introduces the most accurate watch in the world, the Precisionist |publisher=Crunch gear |date=23 March 2010 |access-date=8 July 2012 |archive-date=10 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310131803/http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/23/bulova-introduces-the-most-accurate-watch-in-the-world-the-precisionist/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Junghans Mega.jpg|thumb|World's first [[radio clock]] wristwatch, [[Junghans Mega]] (analog model)]]
Radio time signal watches are a type of electronic quartz watch that synchronizes ([[time transfer]]s) its time with an external [[Radio time signal|time source]] such as in [[atomic clock]]s, time signals from [[GPS]] navigation satellites, the German [[DCF77]] signal in Europe, [[WWVB]] in the US, and others. Movements of this type may, among others, synchronize the time of day and the date, the [[leap year|leap-year]] status and the state of [[daylight saving time]] (on or off). However, other than the radio receiver, these watches are normal quartz watches in all other aspects.
Electronic watches require electricity as a power source, and some mechanical movements and hybrid electronic-mechanical movements also require electricity. Usually, the electricity is provided by a replaceable [[battery (electricity)|battery]]. The first use of electrical power in watches was as a substitute for the mainspring, to remove the need for winding. The first electrically powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the [[Hamilton Watch Company]] of [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]].
Watch batteries (strictly speaking cells, as a battery is composed of multiple cells) are specially designed for their purpose. They are very small and provide tiny amounts of power continuously for very long periods (several years or more). In most cases, replacing the battery requires a trip to a watch-repair shop or watch dealer; this is especially true for watches that are water-resistant, as special tools and procedures are required for the watch to remain water-resistant after battery replacement. Silver-oxide and lithium batteries are popular today; mercury batteries, formerly quite common, are no longer used, for environmental reasons. Cheap batteries may be alkaline, of the same size as silver-oxide cells but providing shorter life. Rechargeable batteries are used in some [[solar-powered watch]]es.
Some electronic watches are powered by the movement of the wearer. For instance, Seiko's [[Automatic quartz|kinetic-powered quartz watches]] use the motion of the wearer's arm: turning a rotating weight which causes a tiny [[Electrical generator|generator]] to supply power to charge a rechargeable battery that runs the watch. The concept is similar to that of self-winding spring movements, except that electrical power is generated instead of mechanical spring tension.
[[Solar powered watch]]es are powered by light. A [[photovoltaic cell]] on the face ([[dial (measurement)|dial]]) of the watch converts light to electricity, which is used to charge a [[rechargeable battery]] or [[capacitor]]. The movement of the watch draws its power from the rechargeable battery or capacitor. As long as the watch is regularly exposed to fairly strong light (such as sunlight), it never needs a battery replacement. Some models need only a few minutes of sunlight to provide weeks of energy (as in the Citizen [[Eco-Drive]]). Some of the early solar watches of the 1970s had innovative and unique designs to accommodate the array of solar cells needed to power them (Synchronar, Nepro, Sicura, and some models by Cristalonic, [[Alba (watch)|Alba]], Seiko, and Citizen). As the decades progressed and the efficiency of the solar cells increased while the power requirements of the movement and display decreased, solar watches began to be designed to look like other conventional watches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soluhr.com/|title=History of the Solar Wristwatch|work=Soluhr.com|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812141728/http://www.soluhr.com/|archive-date=12 August 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
A rarely used power source is the temperature difference between the wearer's arm and the surrounding environment (as applied in the [[Citizen Watch Co., Ltd|Citizen]] [[Eco-Drive]] Thermo).
== Display ==
=== Analog ===
[[File:Poljot-Aviator-3133.jpg|thumb|[[Poljot]] [[chronograph]]]]
[[File:Casio AE12.jpg|alt=Casio AE12|thumb|Casio AE12 LCA (liquid-crystal-analog) watch]]
Traditionally, watches have displayed the time in analog form, with a numbered dial upon which are mounted at least a rotating hour hand and a longer, rotating minute hand. Many watches also incorporate a third hand that shows the current second of the current minute. In quartz watches this second hand typically snaps to the next marker every second. In mechanical watches, the second hand may appear to glide continuously, though in fact it merely moves in smaller steps, typically one-fifth to one-tenth of a second, corresponding to the beat (half period) of the balance wheel. With a ''duplex'' escapement, the hand advances every two beats (full period) of the balance wheel, typically {{frac|1|2}}-second; this happens every four beats (two periods, 1 second), with a ''double duplex'' escapement. A truly gliding second hand is achieved with the ''tri-synchro regulator'' of [[Spring Drive]] watches. All three hands are normally mechanical, physically rotating on the dial, although a few watches have been produced with "hands" simulated by a [[liquid crystal display|liquid-crystal display]].
Analog display of the time is nearly universal in watches sold as jewelry or collectibles, and in these watches, the range of different styles of hands, numbers, and other aspects of the analog dial is very broad. In watches sold for timekeeping, analog display remains very popular, as many people find it easier to read than digital display; but in timekeeping watches the emphasis is on clarity and accurate reading of the time under all conditions (clearly marked digits, easily visible hands, large watch faces, etc.). They are specifically designed for the left wrist with the stem (the knob used for changing the time) on the right side of the watch; this makes it easy to change the time without removing the watch from the wrist. This is the case if one is right-handed and the watch is worn on the left wrist (as is traditionally done). If one is left-handed and wears the watch on the right wrist, one has to remove the watch from the wrist to reset the time or to wind the watch.
Analog watches, as well as clocks, are often marketed showing a display time of approximately 1:50 or 10:10. This creates a visually pleasing smile-like face on the upper half of the watch, in addition to enclosing the manufacturer's name. Digital displays often show a time of 12:08, where the increase in the number of active segments or pixels gives a positive feeling.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/business/media/28adco.html|title=Why Time Stands Still for Watchmakers|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=28 November 2008|date=28 November 2008|archive-date=16 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416220236/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/business/media/28adco.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Ten Ten Tenet|url=http://www.snopes.com/business/market/clockhands.asp|work=Snopes.com|publisher=Barbara and David P. Mikkelson|access-date=14 July 2013|author=Barbara Mikkelson|date=13 May 2011|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703114724/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-ten-ten-tenet/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==
[[Tissot]], a Swiss luxury watchmaker, makes the Silen-T wristwatch with a touch-sensitive face that vibrates to help the user to tell time eyes-free. The bezel of the watch features raised bumps at each hour mark; after briefly touching the face of the watch, the wearer runs a finger around the bezel clockwise. When the finger reaches the bump indicating the hour, the watch vibrates continuously, and when the finger reaches the bump indicating the minute, the watch vibrates intermittently.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tissot Silen-T User's Manual|url=http://support.tissot.ch/usersmanual/137-en.pdf|website=Support.tissot.ch|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230208/http://support.tissot.ch/usersmanual/137-en.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Eone Timepieces, a Washington D.C.–based company, launched its first tactile analog wristwatch, the "Bradley", on 11 July 2013 on the ''[[Kickstarter]]'' website. The device is primarily designed for sight-impaired users, who can use the watch's two ball bearings to determine the time, but it is also suitable for general use. The watch features raised marks at each hour and two moving, magnetically attached ball bearings. One ball bearing, on the edge of the watch, indicates the hour, while the other, on the face, indicates the minute.<ref>{{cite web|title=Innovative Tactile Watch Helps You 'Feel What Time it Is'|url=http://mashable.com/2013/07/13/tactile-watch-bradley/|work=Mashable|access-date=14 July 2013|author=Anita Li|date=14 July 2013|archive-date=16 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716000923/http://mashable.com/2013/07/13/tactile-watch-bradley/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Thanks to Kickstarter, tactile watch debuts|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/07/11/watch-for-blind-kickstarter/0dt8VUnqc0hZ3z3gxUXROP/story.html|access-date=14 July 2013|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=12 July 2013|author=Callum Borchers|archive-date=14 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714122829/http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/07/11/watch-for-blind-kickstarter/0dt8VUnqc0hZ3z3gxUXROP/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===
A digital display shows the time as a number, e.g., 12:08 instead of a short hand pointing towards the number 12 and a long hand 8/60 of the way around the dial. The digits are usually shown as a [[seven-segment display]].
The first digital {{em|mechanical}} pocket watches appeared in the late 19th century. In the 1920s, the first digital mechanical wristwatches appeared.
The first digital ''electronic'' watch, a [[Pulsar (watch)|Pulsar]] LED prototype in 1970, was developed jointly by [[Hamilton Watch Company]] and Electro-Data, founded by George H. Thiess.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/people/all-in-good-time|title=All in Good Time: HILCO EC director donates prototype of world's first working digital watch to Smithsonian|work=Texas Co-op Power|date=February 2012|access-date=21 July 2012|archive-date=9 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209021425/http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/people/all-in-good-time|url-status=live}}</ref> John Bergey, the head of Hamilton's Pulsar division, said that he was inspired to make a digital timepiece by the then-futuristic digital clock that Hamilton themselves made for the 1968 science fiction film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''. On 4 April 1972, the Pulsar was finally ready, made in an 18-carat gold case and sold for $2,100. It had a red [[light-emitting diode]] (LED) display.
Digital LED watches were very expensive and out of reach to the common consumer until 1975, when [[Texas Instruments]] started to mass-produce LED watches inside a plastic case. These watches, which first retailed for only $20,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/quartz/coolwatches/20watch.html|title="TI $20 Watch", The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, [Smithsonian Institution]|website=Invention.smithsonian.org|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818043131/http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/quartz/coolwatches/20watch.html|archive-date=18 August 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> reduced to $10 in 1976, saw Pulsar lose $6 million and the Pulsar brand sold to [[Seiko]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/nerdwatch/|title=Nerd Watch - Vintage Electronics Have Soul – The Pocket Calculator Show Website|website=Pocketcalculatorshow.com|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029012925/http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/nerdwatch/|archive-date=29 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:DBA-800.jpg|thumb|A Casio DBA-800 databank watch with phone dialling capabilities, c. 1987]]
An early LED watch that was rather problematic was [[Black Watch (wristwatch)|The Black Watch]] made and sold by British company [[Sinclair Radionics]] in 1975. This was only sold for a few years, as production problems and returned (faulty) product forced the company to cease production.
Most watches with LED displays required that the user press a button to see the time displayed for a few seconds because LEDs used so much power that they could not be kept operating continuously. Usually, the LED display color would be red. Watches with LED displays were popular for a few years, but soon the LED displays were superseded by [[liquid crystal display]]s (LCDs), which used less battery power and were much more convenient in use, with the display always visible and eliminating the need to push a button before seeing the time. Only in darkness would a button needed to be pressed to illuminate the display with a tiny light bulb, later illuminating LEDs and electroluminescent backlights.<ref>{{US Patent|4096550}}: Walter Boller, Marco Donati, Juerg Fingerle, Peter Wild, ''Illuminating Arrangement for a Field-Effect Liquid-Crystal Display as well as Fabrication and Application of the Illuminating Arrangement'', filed 15 October 1976.</ref>
The first LCD watch with a six-digit LCD was the 1973 [[Seiko]] 06LC, although various forms of early LCD watches with a four-digit display were marketed as early as 1972 including the 1972 [[Gruen Watch Co.|Gruen]] Teletime LCD Watch, and the Cox Electronic Systems Quarza. The Quarza, introduced in 1972 had the first Field Effect LCD readable in direct sunlight and produced by the International Liquid Crystal Corporation of [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/magicalgadget/index3.html#teletime|title=Casio TA-1000 Electronic Clock & Calculator|work=Magical Gadgets, Sightings & Brags|publisher=Pocket Calculator Show|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415005859/http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/magicalgadget/index3.html |archive-date=15 April 2012}}</ref> In Switzerland, Ebauches Electronic SA presented a prototype eight-digit LCD wristwatch showing time and date at the MUBA Fair, [[Basel]], in March 1973, using a [[twisted nematic]] LCD manufactured by [[Brown, Boveri & Cie]], Switzerland, which became the supplier of LCDs to [[Casio]] for the ''CASIOTRON'' watch in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ethw.org/First-Hand:Liquid_Crystal_Display_Evolution_-_Swiss_Contributions |title=First-Hand:Liquid Crystal Display Evolution - Swiss Contributions |author=Peter J. Wild |publisher=ETHW |access-date=23 October 2011 |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703123209/http://ethw.org/First-Hand:Liquid_Crystal_Display_Evolution_-_Swiss_Contributions |url-status=live }}</ref>
A problem with LCDs is that they use [[polarized light]]. If, for example, the user is wearing polarized sunglasses, the watch may be difficult to read because the plane of polarization of the display is roughly perpendicular to that of the glasses.<ref>{{cite book |title=Inquiry into Physics |first1=Vern |last1=Ostdiek |first2=Donald |last2=Bord |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-133-71150-6 |page=343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeYJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA343}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=YeYJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA343 Extract of page 343]</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Physics |edition=illustrated |first1=Jim |last1=Breithaupt |publisher=Nelson Thornes |year=2001 |isbn=0-7487-6243-4 |page=151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSPzV9R08nsC}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=uSPzV9R08nsC&pg=PT151 Extract of page 151]</ref> If the light that illuminates the display is polarized, for example if it comes from a blue sky, the display may be difficult or impossible to read.<ref>{{cite book |title=Transflective Liquid Crystal Displays |first1=Zhibing |last1=Ge |first2=Shin-Tson |last2=Wu |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-68906-6 |pages=39–40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Sp1avgTedMC}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=1Sp1avgTedMC&pg=PA39 Extract of page 39-40]</ref>
From the 1980s onward, digital watch technology vastly improved. In 1982, Seiko produced the Seiko TV Watch<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hightechies.com/gadgets/the-seiko-tv-watch.html |title=The Seiko TV Watch |publisher=HighTechies.com |access-date=23 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006090525/http://hightechies.com/gadgets/the-seiko-tv-watch.html |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> that had a television screen built-in,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taschenfernseher.de/doku/doku-seikotvwatch.pdf |title=T001 Instruction Manual |access-date=27 May 2012 |archive-date=30 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030070456/http://www.taschenfernseher.de/doku/doku-seikotvwatch.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and Casio produced a digital watch with a [[thermometer]] (the TS-1000) as well as another that could translate 1,500 Japanese words into English. In 1985, Casio produced the [[Casio CFX-400|CFX-400]] scientific calculator watch. In 1987, Casio produced a watch that could dial telephone numbers (the DBA-800) and Citizen introduced one that would react to voice. In 1995, Timex released a watch that allowed the wearer to download and store data from a computer to their wrist. Some watches, such as the [[Timex Datalink#Timex Datalink USB|Timex Datalink USB]], feature [[dot matrix]] displays. Since their apex during the late 1980s to mid-1990s high technology fad, digital watches have mostly become simpler, less expensive timepieces with little variety between models.
<gallery widths="270px" heights="270px">
File:Jumphour.jpg|[[Cortébert (watch manufacturer)|''Cortébert'']] digital mechanical pocket watch (1890s)
File:Cortjump1.jpg|''Cortébert'' digital mechanical wristwatch (1920s)
File:PulsarLED.jpg|A silver [[Pulsar (watch)|Pulsar]] [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] watch from 1976
File:Timex T5E901 Ironman Triathlon 30 Lap FLIX.jpg|A [[Timex Group|Timex]] digital watch with an always-on display of the time and date
File:Casio W-86 digital watch electroluminescent backlight (i).jpg|A digital LCD watch with electroluminescent backlight
File:Galaxy Watch.jpg|[[Samsung Galaxy Watch series]] smartwatches with [[OLED]] displays
</gallery>
=== Illuminated ===
{{more citations needed|subsection|date=June 2014}}
[[File:Seiko Chronograph radium.jpg|thumb|An illuminated watch face, using a luminous compound]]
Many watches have displays that are illuminated, so they can be used in darkness. Various methods have been used to achieve this.
Mechanical watches often have [[luminous paint]] on their hands and hour marks. In the mid-20th century, radioactive material was often incorporated in the paint, so it would continue to glow without any exposure to light. [[Radium]] was often used but produced small amounts of radiation outside the watch that might have been hazardous.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alan's Vintage Watches|url=http://alanwatch.homestead.com/page9.html|publisher=Radium Watch Dial Pattern|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131942/http://alanwatch.homestead.com/page9.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tritium]] was used as a replacement, since the radiation it produces has such low energy that it cannot penetrate a watch glass. However, tritium is expensive – it has to be made in a [[nuclear reactor]] – and it has a [[half-life]] of only about 12 years so the paint remains luminous for only a few years. Nowadays, tritium is used in specialized watches, e.g., for military purposes (see [[Tritium illumination]]). For other purposes, luminous paint is sometimes used on analog displays, but no radioactive material is contained in it. This means that the display glows soon after being exposed to light and quickly fades.
Watches that incorporate batteries often have electric illumination in their displays. However, lights consume far more power than electronic watch movements. To conserve the battery, the light is activated only when the user presses a button. Usually, the light remains lit for a few seconds after the button is released, which allows the user to move the hand out of the way.
[[File:Backlit LCD display.jpg|thumbnail|Views of a [[liquid crystal display]], both with [[electroluminescence|electroluminescent]] backlight switched on (top) and switched off (bottom)]]
[[File:Timex Ironman Indiglo backlight.jpg|left|upright|thumbnail|Digital LCD wristwatch [[Timex Ironman]] with electroluminescent backlighting]]
In some early digital watches, [[LED]] displays were used, which could be read as easily in darkness as in daylight. The user had to press a button to light up the LEDs, which meant that the watch could not be read without the button being pressed, even in full daylight.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/watches/a34711480/digital-watch-history/ |title=The Digital Watch Turns 50: A Definitive History |author=Finlay Renwick |date=November 18, 2020 |publisher=Esquire |quote=There were no hands, instead it featured an LED “time screen” made of synthetic ruby with 27 diodes in each digit that displayed the time for 1.25 seconds when the wearer pushed a button on the front.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-digital-watch-a-brief-history |title=The Digital Watch: A Brief History |author=Benj Edwards |date=October 17, 2018 |publisher=PC Mag |quote=The display, produced by a complex 25-chip circuit, was so power-hungry that it lit up only temporarily when the user pushed a button on the front of the unit.}}</ref>
In some types of watches, small [[incandescent]] lamps or LEDs illuminate the display, which is not intrinsically luminous. These tend to produce very non-uniform illumination.
Other watches use [[Electroluminescence|electroluminescent]] material to produce uniform illumination of the background of the display, against which the hands or digits can be seen.
[[Speech synthesis|Talking]] watches are available, intended for the [[Visual impairment|blind or visually impaired]]. They speak the time out loud at the press of a button. This has the disadvantage of disturbing others nearby or at least alerting the non-[[deaf]] that the wearer is checking the time. Tactile watches are preferred to avoid this awkwardness, but talking watches are preferred for those who are not confident in their ability to read a tactile watch reliably.
==Handedness==
Wristwatches with analog displays generally have a small knob, called the crown, that can be used to adjust the time and, in mechanical watches, wind the spring. Almost always, the crown is located on the right-hand side of the watch so it can be worn of the left wrist for a right-handed individual. This makes it inconvenient to use if the watch is being worn on the right wrist. Some manufacturers offer "left-hand drive", aka "destro", configured watches which move the crown to the left side<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wornandwound.com/a-guide-to-destro-watches-from-sinn-muhle-citizen-and-more/|title=A Guide to "Destro": Watches from Sinn, Mühle, Citizen, and More - Worn & Wound|date=10 May 2016|website=Wornandwound.com|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823124119/http://wornandwound.com/a-guide-to-destro-watches-from-sinn-muhle-citizen-and-more/|url-status=live}}</ref> making wearing the watch easier for left-handed individuals.
A rarer configuration is the bullhead watch. Bullhead watches are generally, but not exclusively, [[chronograph]]s. The configuration moves the crown and chronograph pushers to the top of the watch. Bullheads are commonly wristwatch chronographs that are intended to be used as stopwatches off the wrist. Examples are the Citizen Bullhead Change Timer<ref>CITIZEN "BULLHEAD" CHALLENGE TIMER</ref> and the [[Omega Seamaster]] Bullhead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-with-the-omega-seamaster-bullhead-live-pics-pricing|title=Hands-On: With The Omega Seamaster Bullhead (Live Pics + Pricing)|website=Hodinkee.com|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-date=2 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802210638/https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-with-the-omega-seamaster-bullhead-live-pics-pricing|url-status=live}}</ref>
Digital watches generally have push-buttons that can be used to make adjustments. These are usually equally easy to use on either wrist.
==Functions==
[[File:Royal Oak Offshore watch by Audemars Piguet.JPG|thumb|upright|left|A [[chronograph]] wristwatch by [[Audemars Piguet]]]]
[[File:Breguet MG 2573.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Breguet (watch)|Breguet]] squelette watch 2933 with [[tourbillon]]]]
[[File:Patek-Philippe MG 2583.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Perpetual calendar]] wristwatch by [[Patek Philippe]]]]
Customarily, watches provide the [[time of day]], giving at least the hour and minute, and often the second. Many also provide the current date, and some (called "complete calendar" or "triple date" watches) display the day of the week and the month as well. However, many watches also provide a great deal of information beyond the basics of time and date. Some watches include [[alarm]]s. Other elaborate and more expensive watches, both pocket and wrist models, also incorporate [[Striking clock|striking mechanisms]] or [[Repeater (horology)|repeater]] functions, so that the wearer could learn the time by the sound emanating from the watch. This announcement or striking feature is an essential characteristic of true clocks and distinguishes such watches from ordinary [[Clock|timepieces]]. This feature is available on most digital watches.
A ''complicated watch'' has one or more functions beyond the basic function of displaying the time and the date; such a functionality is called a [[Complication (horology)|complication]]. Two popular complications are the ''[[chronograph]]'' complication, which is the ability of the watch movement to function as a [[stopwatch]], and the ''moonphase'' complication, which is a display of the [[lunar phase]]. Other more expensive complications include [[Tourbillon]], [[Perpetual calendar]], [[Minute repeater]], and [[Equation of time]]. A truly complicated watch has many of these complications at once (see [[Calibre 89]] from [[Patek Philippe]] for instance). Some watches aimed at [[Muslim|Muslims]] can both indicate the [[Qibla compass|direction of Mecca]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Muslim watches |url=http://www.watchismo.com/search.aspx?find=muslim |publisher=Watchismo |access-date=14 April 2012 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928004218/http://www.watchismo.com/search.aspx?find=muslim |url-status=dead }}</ref> and have alarms that can be set for all daily prayer requirements.<ref>{{cite web|title=Islamic Watch & Clock|url=http://www.alfajr.com/|publisher=ALFAJR|access-date=14 April 2012|archive-date=4 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404130128/http://www.alfajr.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Among watch enthusiasts, complicated watches are especially collectible. Some watches include a second 12-hour or 24-hour display for [[UTC]] or [[GMT]]. A physicians watch was used for measuring pulse, administering medication or measuring anesthesia.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Men's 1940 Hamilton D37 Fairchild Gun Timer Watch {{!}} Strickland Vintage Watches | url=https://stricklandvintagewatches.com/?wpsc-product=mens-1940-hamilton-d37-fairchild-gun-timer-watch | access-date=2025-08-04 | website=stricklandvintagewatches.com}}</ref>
The similar-sounding terms ''chronograph'' and ''chronometer'' are often confused, although they mean altogether different things. A chronograph is a watch with an added duration timer, often a [[stopwatch]] complication (as explained above), while a [[chronometer watch]] is a timepiece that has met an industry-standard test for performance under pre-defined conditions: a chronometer is a high quality mechanical or a thermo-compensated movement that has been tested and certified to operate within a certain standard of accuracy by the [[COSC]] (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). The concepts are different but not mutually exclusive; so a watch can be a chronograph, a chronometer, both, or neither.
[[File:Datalink USB Dress Edition.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Timex Datalink]] USB Dress edition from 2003 with a dot matrix display; the ''Invasion'' video game is on the screen.]]
Electronic sports watches, combining timekeeping with GPS and/or [[Activity tracker|activity tracking]], address the general [[Physical fitness|fitness]] market and have the potential for commercial success ([[Garmin Forerunner]], Garmin Vivofit, Epson,<ref name="Epson" /> announced model of [[Swatch]] Touch series<ref>Hug, Daniel : ''Swatch lanciert 2015 eine intelligente Uhr.'' In: ''NZZ am Sonntag'', 27 July 2014, page 26 (German)</ref>).
[[Braille watch]]es have analog displays with raised bumps around the face to allow blind users to tell the time. Their digital equivalents use [[synthesised speech]] to speak the time on command.
=== Fashion ===
[[File:Boule de Genève, ca. 1890.jpeg|thumb|right|A so-called "[[Boule de Genève]]" (Geneva ball), c. 1890, 21.5k yellow [[gold]]. A type of pendant watch intended to be used as an accessory for women. They usually came with a matching brooch or chain.]]
Wristwatches and antique pocket watches are often appreciated as [[jewelry]] or as [[collectible]] works of [[art]] rather than just as timepieces.<ref name=NYT012113>{{cite news|title=Buying Back a Forgotten Chinese Heritage|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/fashion/21iht-acaw-pocket21.html|access-date=22 January 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 January 2013|author=Nazanin Lankarani|quote=We try to explain why it makes sense to spend $500,000 on a watch.|archive-date=5 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105060659/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/fashion/21iht-acaw-pocket21.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This has created several different markets for wristwatches, ranging from very inexpensive but accurate watches (intended for no other purpose than telling the correct time) to extremely expensive watches that serve mainly as personal adornment or as examples of high achievement in miniaturization and precision mechanical engineering.
Traditionally, dress watches appropriate for [[informal attire|informal]] (business), [[semi-formal]], and [[formal wear|formal]] attire are [[gold]], thin, simple, and plain, but increasingly rugged, [[Complication (horology)|complicated]], or sports watches are considered by some to be acceptable for such attire. Some dress watches have a [[cabochon]] on the crown or [[facet]]ed [[gemstone]]s on the face, [[bezel setting|bezel]], or bracelet. Some are made entirely of faceted [[sapphire]] ([[corundum]]).
Many fashions and [[department store]]s offer a variety of less-expensive, trendy, "[[costume jewelry|costume]]" watches (usually for women), many of which are similar in quality to basic quartz timepieces but which feature bolder designs. In the 1980s, the Swiss [[Swatch]] company hired graphic designers to redesign a new annual collection of non-repairable watches.
Trade in [[counterfeit watch]]es, which mimic expensive brand-name watches, constitutes an estimated {{USD|1 billion}} market per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.havocscope.com/counterfeit-watches-market-value/|title=Havocscope Counterfeit Watches Market Value: $1 billion|access-date=23 March 2011|archive-date=6 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506003715/http://www.havocscope.com/counterfeit-watches-market-value/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===
[[
The [[Weightlessness|zero-gravity]] environment and other extreme conditions encountered by [[astronaut]]s in [[Outer space|space]] require the use of specially tested watches.
The first-ever watch to be sent into space was a Russian "[[Pobeda (watch)|Pobeda]]" watch from the [[Petrodvorets Watch Factory]]. It was sent on a single orbit flight on the spaceship [[Korabl-Sputnik 4]] on 9 March 1961. The watch had been attached without authorisation to the wrist of Chernuchka, a dog that successfully did exactly the same trip as [[Yuri Gagarin]], with exactly the same rocket and equipment, just a month before Gagarin's flight.<ref>{{cite book |title=Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle |edition=illustrated |first1=Colin |last1=Burgess |first2=Chris |last2=Dubbs |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-387-49678-8 |page=213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSdHVIpsrKkC}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=xSdHVIpsrKkC&pg=PA213 Extract of page 213]</ref>
On 12 April 1961, Gagarin wore a Shturmanskie (a transliteration of {{lang|ru|Штурманские}} which actually means "navigator's") wristwatch during his historic first flight into space. The Shturmanskie was manufactured at the [[Poljot|First Moscow Factory]]. Since 1964, the watches of the First Moscow Factory have been marked by the trademark "{{lang|ru|Полёт}}", transliterated as "POLJOT", which means "flight" in [[Russian language|Russian]] and is a tribute to the many space trips its watches have accomplished. In the late 1970s, [[Poljot]] launched a new [[Chronometer watch|chrono]] movement, the 3133. With a 23 jewel movement and manual winding (43 hours), it was a modified Russian version of the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Valjoux]] 7734 of the early 1970s. Poljot 3133 were taken into space by astronauts from Russia, France, Germany and [[Ukraine]]. On the arm of [[Valeriy Polyakov]], a Poljot 3133 chronograph movement-based watch set a space [[World record|record]] for the longest space flight in history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netgrafik.ch/russian_space_watches.htm |title=Russian Space Watches History |publisher=Netgrafik.ch |access-date=27 May 2012 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212073856/http://www.netgrafik.ch/russian_space_watches.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Sts088-359-037.jpg|thumb|Astronaut [[Nancy J. Currie]] wears the [[Ironman Datalink|Timex Ironman Triathlon Datalink]] model 78401 during [[STS 88]].]]
Through the 1960s, a large range of watches was tested for durability and precision under extreme [[temperature]] changes and vibrations. The [[Omega Speedmaster Professional]] was selected by [[NASA]], the U.S. space agency, and it is mostly known thanks to astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] who wore it during the 1969 [[Apollo 11]] Moon landing. [[TAG Heuer|Heuer]] became the first Swiss watch in space thanks to a Heuer Stopwatch, worn by [[John Glenn]] in 1962 when he piloted the ''[[Friendship 7]]'' on the first crewed U.S. orbital mission. The [[Breitling Navitimer]] Cosmonaute was designed with a [[24-hour analog dial]] to avoid confusion between AM and PM, which are meaningless in space. It was first worn in space by U.S. astronaut [[Scott Carpenter]] on 24 May 1962 in the ''[[Aurora 7]]'' Mercury capsule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.breitling.com/us-en/watches/navitimer/|title=Navitimer, the aviator favourite watch|work=[[Breitling SA|Breitling]]|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404200807/https://www.breitling.com/us-en/watches/navitimer/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Since 1994 [[Fortis Uhren AG|Fortis]] is the exclusive supplier for crewed space missions authorized by the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]]. [[China National Space Administration]] (CNSA) astronauts wear the [[Fiyta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiyta.com.cn|title=Fiyta.com.cn|work=Fiyta|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115191903/http://www.fiyta.com.cn/|archive-date=15 January 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> spacewatches. At [[BaselWorld]], 2008, [[Seiko]] announced the creation of the first watch ever designed specifically for a space walk, Spring Drive Spacewalk. [[Timex Datalink]] is flight certified by NASA for space missions and is one of the watches qualified by NASA for space travel. The [[Casio]] [[G-Shock]] DW-5600C and 5600E, DW 6900, and DW 5900 are Flight-Qualified for NASA space travel.<ref name="NASA 5-8 Article">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_5_8a.php?id=02-024&gl=58 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20061114025319/http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_5_8a.php?id=02-024&gl=58 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 November 2006 |date=14 November 2006 |access-date=23 October 2011 |df=dmy-all | title=NASAexplores 5-8 Article: What Time is It? }}</ref><ref name="NASA 9-12">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasaexplores.com/search_nav_9_12.php?id=02-024&gl=912 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080304191551/http://www.nasaexplores.com/search_nav_9_12.php?id=02-024&gl=912 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2008 |date=4 March 2008 |access-date=23 October 2011 |df=dmy-all | title=NASAexplores - Express Lessons and Online Resources }}</ref>
Various Timex Datalink models were used both by cosmonauts and astronauts.
===
{{Main|Diving watch}}
[[File:Seiko 7002-7020 Diver's 200 m on a 4-ring NATO style strap.JPG|thumb|upright|Seiko 7002–7020 Diver's 200 m on a 4-ring NATO style strap]]
Watch construction may be water-resistant. These watches are sometimes called [[diving watches]] when they are suitable for [[scuba diving]] or [[saturation diving]]. The [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) issued a standard for water-resistant watches which also prohibits the term "[[waterproof]]" to be used with watches, which many countries have adopted. In the United States, advertising a watch as waterproof has been illegal since 1968, per [[Federal Trade Commission]] regulations regarding the "misrepresentation of protective features".<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Timex Blog|title=WHAT MAKES A WATCH WATER-RESISTANT?|url=https://www.timex.com/the-timex-blog/what-makes-a-watch-water-resistant.html|url-status=live|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Timex|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227183413/https://www.timex.com/the-timex-blog/what-makes-a-watch-water-resistant.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Federal Trade Commission|date=16 June 1997|title=FTC's Guides for Advertising and Marketing Watches Up for Review|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/1997/06/ftcs-guides-advertising-and-marketing-watches-review|url-status=live|access-date=27 December 2021|website=FTC.gov|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227183419/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/1997/06/ftcs-guides-advertising-and-marketing-watches-review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Code of Federal Regulations|date=1 January 1997|title=16 CFR 245.5 - Misrepresentation of protective features|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-1997-title16-vol1/pdf/CFR-1997-title16-vol1-sec245-5.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=27 December 2001|website=govinfo.gov|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227183408/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-1997-title16-vol1/pdf/CFR-1997-title16-vol1-sec245-5.pdf}}</ref>
Water-resistance is achieved by the [[gasket]]s which forms a watertight seal, used in conjunction with a sealant applied on the case to help keep water out. The material of the case must also be tested in order to pass as water-resistant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europastar.com/europastar/watch_tech/waterresistance.jsp|title=Watch Industry Questions and Answers: Water-Resistance|work=Europa Star|publisher=VNU eMedia Inc|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-date=18 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218121615/http://www.europastar.com/europastar/watch_tech/waterresistance.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref>
None of the tests defined by [[ISO 2281]] for the Water Resistant mark are suitable to qualify a watch for scuba diving. Such watches are designed for everyday life and must be water-resistant during exercises such as swimming. They can be worn in different temperature and pressure conditions but are under no circumstances designed for scuba diving.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-29 |title=What you need to know about water resistance |url=https://www.thewatchpages.com/is-your-watch-really-water-resistant/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=The Watch Pages |language=en-US}}</ref>
The standards for diving watches are regulated by the [[ISO 6425]] international standard. The watches are tested in static or still water under 125% of the rated (water) pressure, thus a watch with a 200-metre rating will be water-resistant if it is stationary and under 250 metres of static water. The testing of the water-resistance is fundamentally different from non-dive watches, because every watch has to be fully tested. Besides water resistance standards to a minimum of 100-metre depth rating, ISO 6425 also provides eight minimum requirements for mechanical diver's watches for scuba diving (quartz and digital watches have slightly differing readability requirements). For diver's watches for mixed-gas saturation diving two additional ISO 6425 requirements have to be met.
Watches are classified by their degree of water resistance, which roughly translates to the following (1 metre = 3.281 feet):<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jwnz.co.nz/page/watches.aspx|title=Watches|website=Jwnz.co.nz|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715033823/http://www.jwnz.co.nz/page/watches.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Main article [[ISO 6425#Water resistance classification|ISO 6425]]
|-
! nowrap="nowrap" |Water-resistance rating || Suitability || Remarks
|-
| Water Resistant or 30 m || Suitable for everyday use. Splash/rain resistant. || <u>Not</u> suitable for diving, swimming, snorkeling, water-related work, or fishing.
|-
| Water Resistant 50 m || Suitable for swimming, white-water rafting, non-snorkeling water related work, and fishing. || <u>Not</u> suitable for diving.
|-
| Water Resistant 100 m || Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing, and water sports. || <u>Not</u> suitable for diving.
|-
| Water Resistant 200 m || Suitable for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports. || Suitable for diving.
|-
| Diver's 100 m || Minimum ISO standard for [[scuba diving]] at depths not requiring helium gas. || Diver's 100 m and 150 m watches are generally old(er) watches.
|-
| Diver's 200 m or 300 m || Suitable for scuba diving at depths not requiring helium gas. || Typical ratings for contemporary diver's watches.
|-
| Diver's 300<sup>+</sup> m helium safe|| Suitable for [[saturation diving]] (helium-enriched environment). || Watches designed for helium mixed-gas diving will have additional markings to indicate this.
|}
Some watches use [[Bar (unit)|bar]] instead of meters, which may then be multiplied by 10, and then subtract 10 to be approximately equal to the rating based on metres. Therefore, a 5 bar watch is equivalent to a 40-metre watch. Some watches are rated in [[Atmosphere (unit)|atmospheres]] (atm), which are roughly equivalent to bar.{{fact|date=August 2023}}
=== Dosimeter ===
[[File:POLIMASTER-PM1603B.jpg|thumb|upright|Polimaster PM1603B dosimeter watch]]
Watches with built-in geiger counters exist for contractors working in the nuclear industry and military personnel specializing in nuclear ordnance. The first known example was the Raketa Atom of 1954.<ref>{{Cite web | title=1954年にソビエトで作られたラケタ（Ракета/Raketa）のガイガーカウンター付腕時計 - ガイガーカウンターカタログ | url=https://geigercounter001.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1688.html | access-date=2025-08-04 | website=geigercounter001.blog.fc2.com}}</ref> A geiger counter watch was famously used in the 1965 James Bond movie ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'' where Sean Connery's character uses a modified [[Breitling Top Time]] to find stolen nuclear warheads. Polimaster, Huatec, MTM Special Ops manufacture dosimeter watches.
=== Navigation ===
{{Main|Direction-finding watch}}
There is a traditional method by which an [[analog watch]] can be used to locate north and south. The Sun appears to move in the sky over a 24-hour period while the hour hand of a 12-hour [[clock face]] takes twelve hours to complete one rotation. In the northern hemisphere, if the watch is rotated so that the hour hand points toward the Sun, the point halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will indicate south. For this method to work in the southern hemisphere, the 12 is pointed toward the Sun and the point halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will indicate north. During [[daylight saving time]], the same method can be employed using 1 o'clock instead of 12. This method is accurate enough to be used only at fairly high latitudes.
== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[Boule de Genève]]
* [[Clock]]
* [[Coin watch]]
* [[Complication (horology)|Complication]]
* [[24-hour analogue dial #Notable 24-hour watch brands|List of 24-hour watch brands]]
* [[List of most expensive watches sold at auction]]
* [[List of watch manufacturers]]
* [[Marine chronometer]]
* [[Movado Ermeto watch]]
* [[Pocket watch]]
* [[Shock-resistant watch]]
* [[Smart watch]]
* [[Tachymeter (watch)]]
* [[Talking clock]]
* [[The Holy Trinity (horology)|The Holy Trinity]]
* [[Trench watch]]
* [[Watchmaker]]
* [[Obrey (watches)]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==
* [[Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe|Beckett, Edmund]], [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17576 ''A Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks, Watches and Bells''], 1903, from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* Berner, G.A., [http://www.fhs.ch/berner/?l=en ''Illustrated Professional Dictionary of Horology''], [[Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry]] FH 1961–2012
* Daniels, George, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWq8c0xvGxsC ''Watchmaking''], London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 1981 (reprinted 15 June 2011)
* De Carle, Donald, (Illustrations by E. A. Ayres), [https://archive.org/details/practicalwatchre0000deca ''Practical Watch Repairing''], 3rd edition, New York : [[Skyhorse Pub.]], 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-60239-357-8}}. Significant information on watches, their history, and inner workings.
* Denn, Mark, "The Tourbillon and How It Works," ''IEEE Control Systems Magazine'', June 2010, [[IEEE Control Systems Society]], DOI 10.1109/MCS.2010.936291.
* Donzé, Pierre-Yves. "Dynamics of innovation in the electronic watch industry: a comparative business history of Longines (Switzerland) and Seiko (Japan), 1960-1980." ''Essays in Economic & Business History'' 37.1 (2019): 120-145. [https://www.ebhsoc.org/journal/index.php/ebhs/article/download/6/6 online]
* Donzé, Pierre-Yves (2022). ''The business of time: A global history of the watch industry''. Manchester University Press.
* Grafton, Edward, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GlIEAAAAQAAJ ''Horology, a popular sketch of clock and watch making''], London: Aylett and Jones, 1849
* [http://www.watkinsr.id.au/david.html American and Swiss Watchmaking in 1876 by Jacques David]
* [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/HistoryCultureCollections/SIL-029-015/pdf/SIL-029-015.pdf The Watch Factories of America Past and Present by Henry G. Abbott (1888)]
* [http://www.fhs.ch/ Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH]
* [http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB218487&F=0 UK patent GB218487, Improvements relating to wrist watches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508061339/http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB218487&F=0 |date=8 May 2008 }}, 1923 patent resulting from John Harwood's invention of a practical self-winding watch mechanism.
==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Watches}}
*{{Wikibooks-inline|Budget Watch Collecting}}
{{Jewellery}}
{{Time measurement and standards}}
{{Time topics}}
{{Authority control}}
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