Watches, The History of Time: An Extensive Look - Softcover

Johnson, Samuel

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9781521780374: Watches, The History of Time: An Extensive Look

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1521780374 ISBN 13: 9781521780374

Publisher: Independently published, 2017

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This book tells the reader about the history of different timepieces, why they are given different names such as the chronograph or the Diver's watch and how they revolutionized human practices in their time. The book has classified 10 different types of watches; Swiss watch, Quartz watch, Radio controlled watch, Chronograph watch, Diver's watch, Pilot's watch, Space watch, Military watch, Sports watch and the Race watch. Each of the watches discussed above have come from some idea about making a certain practice better than before. These watches have served to make life easier for man in his pursuit to achieve success. The book starts off with an introduction where a brief history of the watch is discussed. The first inventor of the wristwatch (though there is not widespread agreement on who invented it), a wrist watch given as a gift to the Queen of England, and afterwards to the Queen of Naples and how that made the wristwatch become a fashion statement for women. Then the history of the wristwatch takes it turn to a more practical use; War. It was used by soldiers on the battlefield in order to coordinate and time attacks. This led to the wrist watch being manufactured for Mass Production. The Garstin company was the first to patent a watch design. The watch was used by the British in their colonial struggle. Afterwards, the discussion shifts towards the design changing overtime, simple leather straps and bulky watch faces becoming more thinner and sleeker. The wristwatch overtime became desirable for men as well after soldiers were recognized by watches on their wrists. The introduction hints further in the book about how WWl and WWll revolutionized watch-making. The first chapter is about Swiss watches. A thorough introduction is given about Swiss watches, the history of how the wristwatch became so central to Swiss national identity and how the Swiss were the first in most major watch innovations, such as the first watch-maker's guild, the first perpetual watch, the first waterproof watch and the first quartz watch all came from Switzerland. Further, a discussion on how the Swiss prioritized looks over timekeeping when they made a watch, and the effort they exerted in the fashioning of each timepiece. Moreover, Daniel Jean Richard's innovation in watch-making practices revolutionized the Swiss watch manufacturing process, and the idea of the Establisseur came into being. The second chapter informs the reader about the Quartz watch. The pioneer company in this technology Seiko invented a Quartz watch that was used to time events in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. A general idea about how a Quartz operates in the watch and regulates the gears within it. Further, Quartz being the reason behind the fall of Swiss global hegemony over wristwatches and the mechanical watch soon becoming a luxury item is outlined as well, which strengthened Japanese and American watch companies. The third chapter talks about the technology of Radio controlled watches, the watches are relatively a new breakthrough, but have allowed the user the comfort to never having to set their watches again. Junghans is considered the first in inventing a radio controlled watch, and Citizen being the first Japanese brand to experiment with this technology. A brief note on the atomic watch is also within this chapter which can keep time accuracy of one second in 1000 years. The fourth chapter called Chronograph watches credits Louis Moinet as its inventor. The chronograph history and the role of King Louis IVIII of France in making it sophisticated is discussed. The chronograph became very popular in the world of racing and watch companies started to focus production according to the demands of the race track. The book ends on the note that though in the world of smart watches, the mechanical watch should not be belittled because it has made human progress possible.

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