Wikipedia
''In naval parlance, Ship's bells watches are a timekeeping convention. The term in general use can mean any period of duty or responsibility, such as a hurricane watch.'' A watch is a small portable clock that displays the time and sometimes the day, date, month and year. In modern times they are usually worn on the wrist with a watch-strap (made of e.g. leather (often synthetic), metal, or nylon), although before the 20th century most were pocket watches, which had covers and were carried separately, often in a pocket, and hooked to a watch chain. Current watches are often digital watches, using a piezoelectric crystal, usually quartz, as an crystal oscillatoroscillator (see quartz clock).Mechanical timepieces are still used, usually powered by a Spring (device)spring wound regularly by the user. The invention of "Automatic" or "Self-Winding" watches allowed for a constant winding without special action from the wearer: it works by an eccentric weight, called a winding rotor, that rotates to the movement of the wearer's body. The back-and-forth motion of the winding rotor couples to a ratchet (device)ratchet to automatically wind the watch.Watches may be collectible; they are often made of precious metals, and can be considered an article of jewelry.
Types of watch -
Pocket clock - The earliest need for portability in time keeping was navigation and mapping in the 15th century. The latitude could be measured by looking at the stars, but the only way a ship could measure its longitude was by comparing timezones; by comparing the midday time of the local longitude to a European meridian (usually Paris or Greenwich), a sailor could know how far he was from home. However, the process was notoriously unreliable until the introduction of John Harrison's chronometer. For that reason, most maps from the 15th century to c.1800 have precise latitudes but distorted longitudes.The first reasonably accurate mechanical clocks measured time with weighted pendulums, which are useless at sea or in watches. The invention of a spring mechanism was crucial for portable clocks. In Tudor periodTudor England, the development of "pocket-clockes" was enabled through the development of reliable springs and escapement mechanisms, which allowed clockmakers to compress a timekeeping device into a small, portable compartment.In 1524, Peter Henlein created the first pocket watchvex.netparalumun.com.It is rumoured that Henry VIII (the portrait of Henry VIII at this link shows the medallion thought to be the back of his watch) had a pocket clock which he kept on a chain around his neck. However, these watches only had an hour hand - a minute hand would have been useless considering the inaccuracy of the watch mechanism. Eventually, miniaturization of these spring-based designs allowed for accurate portable timepieces which worked well even at sea. Aaron Lufkin Dennison founded Waltham Watch Company in 1850, which was the pioneer of the industrial manufacturing by interchangeable parts, the American System of Watch Manufacturing.
Wrist watch - Navitimer Montbrillant, a typical pilot watch. Quantum on hand, day of the week, month, slide rule, chronometer certified.]]The wristwatch was invented by Patek Philippe at the end of the 19th century. It was however considered a woman's accessory. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont, who had difficulty checking the time while in his first aircraft (Dumont was working on the invention of the aeroplane), asked his friend Louis Cartier for a watch he could use more easily. Cartier gave him a leather-band wristwatch from which Dumont never separated. Being a popular figure in Paris, Cartier was soon able to sell these watches to other men. During the First World War, officers in all armies soon discovered that in battlefield situations, quickly glancing at a watch on their wrist was far more convenient than fumbling in their jacket pockets for an old-fashioned pocket watch. In addition, as increasing numbers of officers were killed in the early stages of the war, NCOs promoted to replace them often did not have pocket watches (traditionally a middle-class item out of the reach of ordinary working-class soldiers), and so relied on the army to provide them with timekeepers. As the scale of battles increased, artillery and infantry officers were required to synchronize watches in order to conduct attacks at precise moments, whilst artillery officers were in need of a large number of accurate timekeepers for rangefinding and gunnery. Army contractors began to issue reliable, cheap, mass-produced wristwatches which were ideal for these purposes. When the war ended, demobilized European and American officers were allowed to keep their wristwatches, helping to popularize the items amongst middle-class Western civilian culture. Today, nearly every Westerner wears a watch on his wrist, a direct result of the First World War.
Complicated watch - A complicated watch has one or more functionalities beyond basic time-keeping capabilities; 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. Among watch enthusiasts, complicated watches are especially collectible.
Chronographs and chronometers - The similar-sounding terms chronograph and chronometer are often confused, although they mean altogether different things. A chronograph is a type of complication, as explained under the heading "Complicated Watch." A chronometer is a watch or clock whose movement 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; a watch can be a chronograph, a chronometer, both, or neither.
Electromechanical watches - The first use of electrical power in watches was as a source of energy to replace the mainspring, and therefore to remove the need for winding. The first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Quartz analog watch - The quartz analog watch is an electronic watch that uses a piezoelectricitypiezoelectric quartz crystal as its timing element, coupled to a mechanical movement that drives the hands. The first prototypes were made by the CEH research laboratory in Switzerland in 1962. The first quartz watch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron, which appeared in 1969. There are also several variations of the quartz watch as to what actually powers the movement. There are solar powered, kinetically powered, and battery powered. Solar powered quartz watches are powered by available light. Kinetic powered quartz watches are powered by the motion of the wearer's arm turning a rotating weight, which in turn, turns a generator to supply power. The third and most common power source is the battery. Watch batteries come in many forms, the most common of which are silver oxide and lithium.
Digital watches - Cheaper electronics permitted the popularization of the digital watch (an electronic watch with a numerical, rather than analog, display) in the second half of the 20th century. They were seen as the great new thing. Douglas Adams, in the introduction of his novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, would say that humans were 'so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea'.The first digital watch, a Pulsar prototype in 1970, was developed jointly by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro-Data. A retail version of the Pulsar was put on sale in 1972. It had a red light-emitting diode (LED) display. LED displays were soon superseded by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which used less battery power. 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 Teletime LCD Watch ledwatches.net, pocketcalculatorshow.com.In addition to the function of a timepiece, digital watches can have additional functions like a chronograph, calculator, video game, etc.Digital watches have not replaced analog watches, despite their greater reliability and lower cost. In fact, because digital watches are so cheap, analog watches are often worn as status symbols. For others, analog watches are just easier to read.
Fashionable watches - At the end of the 20th century, Swiss watch makers were seeing their sales go down as analog clocks were considered obsolete. They joined forces with designers from many countries to reinvent the Swiss watch.The result was that they could considerably reduce the pieces and production time of an analog watch. In fact it was so cheap that if a watch broke it would be cheaper to throw it away and buy a new one than to repair it. They founded the The Swatch Group Ltd.Swiss Watch company (Swatch) and called graphic designers to redesign a new annual collection.This is often used as a case study in design schools to demonstrate the commercial potential of industrial and graphic design.
Advanced watches - As miniaturized electronics become cheaper, more and more functionalities have been inserted into watches. Watches have been developed containing calculators, video games, digital cameras, keydrives, and cellular phones. In the early 1980s Seiko marketed a watch with a television receiver in it, although at the time television receivers were too bulky to fit in a wristwatch, and the actual receiver and its power source were in a book-sized box with a cable that ran to the wristwatch. In the early 2000s, a self-contained wristwatch television receiver came on the market, with a strong enough power source to provide one hour of viewing.Several companies have attempted to develop a computer contained in a WristWatch (see also wearable computer). As of 20052005, the only programmable computer watches to have made it to market are the Seiko Ruputer, the Matsucom onHand, and the Fossil, Inc. WristPDA, although many digital watches come with extremely sophisticated data management software built in.In 1990 radio controlled wristwatches or as they are sometimes called "atomic watches" reached the market. These wristwatches normally receive a radio signal from one of the national atomic clock facilities around the world, for example the National Institute of Standards and Technology located in Colorado in the United States. This radio signal tells the wristwatch exactly what time it is, in theory precise to a fraction of a nanosecond. It will also reset itself when daylight savings time changes. In recent years, mass production has meant that atomic watches have become as cheap as quartz watches, though market share still remains small as interest from big manufacturers is limited. Casio even produces watches with a GPS receiver.
Watchmakers and Watch Brands - alange-soehne.com - A. Lange & Söhne abart.de - a.b.art chronotime.ch - A.I. Wajs accuratewatch.com - Accurate accurist.co.uk - Accurist ledwatches.net - Acousticon adchrono.de - AD Chrono ad-design.com - AD Design advancegroupinc.com - Advance aerowatch.com - Aéro Watch affluencewatch.com - Affluence agirwatch.com - Agir aiguilla.ch - Aiguilla airain.at - Airain ledwatches.net - Aitron Ajanta AKTEO alain-le-mondial.de - Alain Le Mondial alainphilippe.com - Alain Philippe a-silberstein.fr - Alain Silberstein ledwatches.net - Alcor www1.alessi.com - Alessi alexander-shorokhoff.de - Alexander Shorokhoff alfex.ch - ALFEX alfons-doller.de - Alfons Doller dunhill.com - Alfred Dunhill alfredhammel.com - Alfred Hammel ? ledwatches.net - Alphatron alpina-watches.com - Alpina altanus.com - Altanus amundsenoslo.com - Amundsen Oslo andersen-geneve.ch - Andersen fleury.com - Andre Fleury lemarquand.ch - André Le Marquand andremouche.ch - Andre Mouche astrehler.ch - Andreas Strehler andrewvorontsov.com - Andrew Vorontsov android-usa.com - Android andywarholwatch.com - Andy Warhol angularmomentum.com - Angular Momentum anonimo.com - Anonimo antima.ch - Antima antoine-preziuso.com - Antoine Preziuso appella.com - Appella appetime.com - Appetime aquanautic.com - Aquanautic aquastar.ch - Aquastar archimede-uhren.de - Archimede aristella.de - Aristella aristo-watch.de - Aristo armandnicolet.com - Armand Nicolet arminstrom.ch - Armin Strom armitron.com - Armitron Arnex] thebritishmasters.biz - Arnold & Son ars-et-tempus.com - Ars et Tempus arthus-bertrand.fr - Arthus Bertrand askania-uhren.de - Askania astboerg.de - Astboerg astongerard.com - Aston Gerard astron-watch.com - Astron asulab.ch - Asulab atelier5.ch - Atelier 5 atlantic-watch.ch - Atlantic attias.com - Attias audemarspiguet.com - Audemars Piguet augustereymond.ch - Auguste Reymond austernandpaul.com - Austern & Paul clockswatches.com - Austin aviawatches.com - Avia aviateur.ch - Aviateur aviatex.ch - Aviatex avierwatch.com - Avier axcent.se - Axcent bub-zeittechnik.de - B&B badollet.com - Badollet ballwatch.com - Ball Watch mondaine.ch - Bally balmainwatches.com - Balmain barthelay.com - Barthelay baume-et-mercier.com - Baume et Mercier uhren-atelier.ch - Beat Haldimann bedat.com - Bédat & Co lakesidewatchco.com - Belair bellross.com - Bell & Ross superiorwatch.com - Benjamin Timepieces benrik.com - benrik thewatchguy.homestead.com - Benrus berettawatches.com - Beretta bernewatch.com - Berne berneyblondeau.com - Berney-Blondeau berthet.com - Berthet bertolucci-watches.com - Bertolucci ledwatches.net - Beta bethge-uhren.de - Bethge beuchat.com - Beuchat bikerwatch.de - Biker Watch blancier.com - Blancier blancpain.ch - Blancpain blu.ch - blu boccia.com - Boccia bo-design.de - bo-design bonnevillewatches.com - Bonneville borgward-watch.de - Borgward ledwatches.net - Boucher boucheron.com - Boucheron bovenit.de - Bovenit bovet-fleurier.ch - Bovet braun.com - Braun breguet.com - Breguet breil.com - Breil breitling.com - Breitling brior.de - Brior Soehnle-uhren.de - Bruno Söhnle bucherer.com - Bucherer amajo-geneva.com - BUCLIN budapestwatch.com - Budapest Watch Co. buler.ch - Buler bulgari.com - Bulgari bulova.ch - Bulova bunter.ch - Bunter bunz.de - BUNZ burett.com - Burett tbbuti-japan.com - Buti vallediblenio.ch - Buzzi cwcwatch.com - Cabot Watch Company calcio-swiss.com - Calcio Swiss calligraph.ch - Calligraph pvh.com - Calvin Klein calypso-watches.com - Calypso mondaine.ch - Camel Active candino.ch - Candino cardinalwatch.com - Cardinal carl-f-bucherer.com - Carl F. Bucherer carloferrara.it - Carlo Ferrara cartier.com - Cartier carvenwatch.com - Carven casio.com - Casio catamaran.ch - Catamaran catena.ch - Catena cattin-watch.ch - Cattin ccm-braun.de - CCM Braun cellini.ch - Cellini century.ch - Century certina.ch - Certina certus.fr - Certus chagal.ch - Chagal chanel.com - Chanel charleshubert.com - Charles Hubert clrochat.ch - Charles-Louis Rochat charmex.ch - Charmex charriol.com - Charriol chase-durer.com - Chase-Durer chatila.ch - Chatila chaumet.com - Chaumet chimento.it - Chimento chopard.com - Chopard christ.de - Christ klaauwwatches.nl - Christiaan van der Klaauw christian-bernard.fr - Christian Bernard diorjoaillerie.com - Christian Dior replicadesignerwatch.com - Chromachron chronodeco.com - Chronodeco chronographesuisse.ch - Chronographe Suisse chronolux.ru - Chronolux ledwatches.net - Chronosonic 100 chronoswiss.de - Chronoswiss chronotech.com - Chronotech chuma.de - Churpfälzische UhrenManufactur cimier.com - Cimier citizen.co.jp - Citizen Watch Co., Ltd cwc-watch.de - Classic Watch Construction claude-pascal.de - Claude Pascal clercwatches.com - Clerc clockbox.com - Clockbox clydaparis.com - Clyda coach.com - Coach coinwatch.com - Coinwatch vintagecalculators.com - CompuChron ledwatches.net - Comsar concord.ch - Concord conex-uhren.de - Conex consulwatch.com - Consul corum.ch - Corum coverwatches.com - Cover crival.net - Crival croisier.de - Croisier crotonwatch.com - Croton cuervoysobrinos.com - Cuervo y Sobrinos cyclos-watch.ch - Cyclos cyma.ch - Cyma cyrilratel.ch - Cyril Ratel [Delbana - Diesel (clothing company)Diesel Ebel Elgin Watch Company ESQ Swiss [http://www.fortis-watch.com FORTIS Fossil, Inc.Fossil frederique-constant.com - Frederique Constant Glashütte Girard-Perregaux Gucci Hamilton Watch Co. International Watch CoIWC - International Watch Co Schaffhausen Invicta Watch Group Jaeger Le Coultre Junghans Longines louisdavin.com - Louis Davin Marathon Matsucom Movado Mühle Glashütte/SA. Oakley (fashion)Oakley Omega WatchesOmega Orient WatchesOrient Oris Panerai Patek Philippe paulpicot.ch - Paul Picot Poljot (ceased production in late 2004) Rado Raymond Weil Rolex S. Coifman scalfaro.ch - Scalfaro seasurfer.com - SeaSurfer Timewear Seiko Sekonda Skagen WatchesSkagen sinn.de - Sinn Suunto Swatch TAG Heuer Timex CorporationTimex Tissot Ulysse Nardin union-glashuette.com - Union Vacheron Constantin Victorinox Vostok_watchesVostok Waltham International SA Wenger Yema Zenith WatchesZenith Zeno-Watch Basel
See also - Wearable computer10:08 - The time to which most watches are set in advertisements
External links - awi-net.org - American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute fhs.ch - How does a watch work? FH, Switzerland chronocentric.com - Chronocentric: "The largest independent, non-commercial, consumer-oriented resource on the Internet for owners, collectors and enthusiasts of fine wristwatches." timezone.com - Mechanical Watch FAQ 1.0 from TimeZone.com thepurists.com - ThePuristS.com: an independent, non-commercial resource for horological enthusiasts. misterwatchonline.com - Watchesahci.ch - Horological Academy of Independent Creators - Independent Watchmakersda:Ur !(kronometer)de:Armbanduhrfr:Mo ntreio:Horlojoit:Orologioja:&# 33109;時計pt:Reló gio? de !pulsozh:手表Catego ry:ClocksCategory:Portable? devices DEBUG REDIRECT (watch)
|
|
Websites
Diamond Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
Gold Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
http://www.diamondseller.com/
Diamond Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
Gold Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
http://www.goldbuyer.com/
Lanarkweather.org - Your source for timely and accurate weather information, news and more.
Providing accurate and timely weather information and news to our community. Educational content, photos, safety and survival tips, storm chasing items and much more.
http://www.lanarkweather.org/
Universe of Luxury
Les nouveautés des montres, des bijoux, de la joaillerie et des instruments d'écriture de luxe
http://www.universe-of-luxury.com
Goldmine Jewelry Online
Online Jewelry Store for online shopping. Featuring the latest styles of Simon G., Lorenzo and many others. Shop at Goldmine Jewelry for the best deals on jewelry today.
http://www.gminejewelry.com/
SWCreations Handcrafted Beaded Jewelry
Handcrafted beaded anklets, bookmarks, bracelets, car jewels, fan pulls, earrings, keychains, jewelry sets, necklaces, and watches.
http://www.swcreations.net/
Antiques Nautical Maur
watches military military watches air force vintage armed forces watch antique different army needed
http://www.maurnavy.com/
Yellobox
A fresh an exciting online experience, offering the finest in contemporary fashion and diamond jewellery, quality branded watches and a wide selection of corporate and personal gifts.
http://yellobox.co.uk/
EileensEshop
Looking for a gift that will be teasured for a lifetime? Gifts and home decor for discerning buyers.
http://www.eileenseshop.com
Diamond Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
Gold Buyer buy sell gold, buyer of gold, 24k gold, 18k gold, 14k gold all bought.
http://www.cartierbuyer.com/
WATCH-MAKER - create your chronometer
with WATCH-MAKER you can create your individual high quality wrist watch
http://www.watch-maker.at
The Scale Model Airplane Collector!
The Scale Model Airplane Collector! is designed to be the only collecting software program you will ever need to catalog and collect any type scale model airplane.
http://www.collectiblessoftware.com/TSMAC.html
Mechanical watches and more
In my shop, you will find always mechanical watches. German, russian and japanese brands like Aristo, Kienzle, Junkers, Orient, Vostok-Europe and more. Also watchwinder, boxes and straps.
http://www.chrononet.de/
WRISTIT.COM - ELYSEE Watches
Automatic German Watches Price Range from $195.00 to $395.00 International Delivery Included
http://www.wristit.com/
Justbrands Watches and Gifts for the World
Looking for watches, perfumes or gifts, don't look any further, this is the place for the best deals around.
http://www.justbrands.net/
Bling Bling Diamonds Jewelry Watches
Secure online shopping. Buy diamonds, fine jewelry and brand name watches online.
http://www.diamonds-jewelry-watches.com/
Owner
Free online auction site
http://www.traderbait.com
Leading manufacturers of wrist watches with many models
Classic Watches now produces more than 700 models of wrist watches in a wide price range for world markets. Classic Watches has been operative in the horological industry for the past 35 years. With a dedicated tem of professionals, the company has developed a marketing team across all over India.
http://www.classicwatchesindia.com/
Horlogerie-Suisse
Nouvautés des montres de luxe, leçons d'horlogerie, forum et annuaire horloger
http://www.horlogerie-suisse.com/
CLOCKBOX, the DIY watch
CLOCKBOX is the first wristwatch that comes as a do-it-yourself kit. Enjoy the fun of making your own watch and showing it off to your friends. Or surprise everyone with this extraordinary gift!
http://www.clockbox.com/
Dive (into) Watches
The most comprehensive web site about dive watches. Focus on history and key modells.
http://www.rruegger.ch/
Cheapboards.nl - All brands Snowboards - wakeboards - kites
Cheapboards.nl. We always offer the best prices! Free shipping over 250 Euro
http://www.cheapboards.nl
Visit Switzerland
General Information about Switzerland, including facts, interesting places, pictures, people, culture, political conditions and much more
http://www.visit-switzerland.ch/
Auctions house fine art
The auction house--live or online--for paintings, sculpture, other fine art, antiques, books, jewelry, toys, dolls, collectible memorabilia, and more. Authenticity and condition guaranteed.
http://www.hellmann-fine-art.de/
Storm Prediction Center
Official government site for the prediction of thunderstorms and severe weather in the U.S.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Program description, information for students, department listings, course web pages, research and data centers, and guestbook.
http://www.met.tamu.edu/
|
|