Portable clocks were invented in Germany around 1500, but no one had the idea of putting a watch around the wrist until very recently.
Until around 1900, most watches were carried in a pants or vest pocket, often at the end of a chain. Both the chain and the pocket were called the watch.
In 1790, a Swiss watchmaker made the first wristwatch, but no one was really interested in wristwatches until about a century later. According to a story, the man who made the first popular wristwatch got the idea when he saw a woman sitting in a park with a watch tied around her wrist, freeing both her hands to care for her child.
In 1914, when a wristwatch was shown at an exhibit in Switzerland, it was called “just a passing fancy.” Today, this “passing fancy” is the number-one jewelry item in the world!
About 80 million watches are made around the world each year!
Basic interesting facts, people sometimes forget that about 40 years ago all watches were hand made.