VERY INTERESTING: WATCHES

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Interesting Watch Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About

Whether you love watches or not, you must admit that the culture surrounding them is as interesting as any other in the fashion industry. With expensive luxury brands, histories that are centuries long, and compelling characters producing and wearing watches, it is impossible to resist the fun watch facts that come out of the timepiece industry.

1: Pocket Watches Used to Dominate the Market

The pocket watch is nearly dead in the modern world, but a couple hundred years ago, it dominated the market. In fact, wristwatches were rarely worn until the last 100 years or so. Though they seem more archaic and less functional, you probably would have had one if you lived in the 19th century.

2: The First Ever Watch Was a Piece of Stone (Kind Of)

Though historians believe the Sumerians were the first to record time in 2000 BC, the earliest evidence of using a physical object to keep time comes from the ancient Egyptians. What they did was carve a large, stone obelisk that would be placed in a specific location. As the sun moved, so did the stone’s shadow. They estimated the time from the length and direction of this shadow.

3: Expensive Watches Do Not Always Mean Better 

This isn’t always the case, but sometimes the trend is that cheaper watches use quartz movement and luxury watches use mechanical. While mechanical watches are heavier, more beautiful to look at, and more complex, they are actually less accurate than quartz. Of course, most watch collectors are not after pure functionality when they shop. Instead, they pay for the craftsmanship that comes with complicated inner workings.

 

4: Wristwatches Were Originally Made for Women

In the modern world, just about everybody wears wristwatches. In the past, this was not the case. As we mentioned above, pocket watches dominated the industry for a long time. When the wristwatch came along, its primary purpose was to decorate the wrists of women, who generally did not carry pocket watches. It was only after a few decades that men decided that they would like watches on their wrists too.

5: They’ve Been to Space and the Moon

The space race of the 20th century has entire novels written about it, but one thing that is rarely mentioned is the watches theses astronauts wore. If you don’t know, it was actually the Russians that made it to space first. When they did, their astronauts were wearing Strela watches. When the US saw that Russia had made it to space first, they ramped up their research and development. The result was the US getting to the moon first. The watch worn by their astronauts was the Omega Speedmaster.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking