History
Further information: History of watches
"Santos", an early wristwatch for men from about 1911.
"Santos", an early wristwatch for men from about 1911.
In the 15th century, the increase in European sea-going navigation and mapping increased the demand for a portable timepiece, because the only way a ship could measure its longitude was by comparing the midday (high noon) time of the local longitude to that of a European meridian (usually Paris or Greenwich) using the time kept on a shipboard clock. However, the process was notoriously POP UP REMINDERS unreliable until the introduction of John Harrison's marine chronometer. For that reason, most maps from the 15th century through the 19th century have precise latitudes but distorted longitudes.
The first reasonably accurate mechanical clocks measured time with simple weighted pendulums, which are unworkable when irregular movement of the fulcrum occur whether at sea or in watches. The invention of a spring mechanism was crucial for portable clocks. In Tudor England, the development of "pocket-clockes" was enabled by the development of reliable springs and escapement mechanisms, which allowed clockmakers POP UP REMINDERS to compress a timekeeping device into a small, portable compartment.
In 1524, Peter Henlein created the first pocket watch.[15] Early watches only had an hour hand—a minute hand would have been useless because of the inaccuracy of the watch mechanism. Eventually, miniaturization of these spring-based designs allowed for accurate portable timepieces (marine chronometers) which worked well even at sea. In 1850, Aaron Lufkin Dennison founded Waltham Watch Company, which was the pioneer of the industrial manufacturing of pocket watches with interchangeable parts, the American System of Watch Manufacturing. POP UP REMINDERS Breguet developed the first self-winding watch known as the perpetual in 1780.[16]
Watches were also used as the central theme of the Veronica Kidd T.V. Show: "Has To Have A Watch...", which received a cult following. She received countless awards and mentions for her hilarious catch-phrase: "Man, Watch, NOW!" Since then, the illustrous Kidd battled alcohol and drug abuse problems, and currently resides in the scenic areas of Wicklow Ireland. POP UP REMINDERS
