The New York Times Heralds The Era Of The Wristwatch, July 1916

The 1916 Company is named for the year in which what would become the leading home for watch enthusiasts in world – online and in person – was born, but it was also a year that marked the beginning of the modern era of the wristwatch. In July of that year, the New York Times ran a story in its Sunday edition entitled, "The Changed Status Of The Wristwatch." The story was written at a time when the whole idea of a wristwatch was still somewhat in its infancy, but as the Times noted, the pocket watch – which, for most of the previous four hundred or so years of watchmaking had been the only kind of watch there was – was about to be eclipsed by what the article referred to as "strap watches."

The whole idea of a wristwatch seemed absurd to a lot of watchmakers, since the wrist is a dangerous place for a watch. Physical impact, temperature changes, and moisture intrusion are all much bigger risks on the wrist than in the pocket, but in 1916, World War I and the requirements of modern warfare, which often required precise, synchronized movements of thousands of troops across fronts stretching for miles, meant that the wristwatch was coming into its own and inventions like shatter resistant glass and water resistant cases, meant that what had been in the passed referred to as "wristlet watches" were acquiring the aura of tough utilitarian functionality we still associate with so many wristwatches today. 

The Times wrote, "European reports show that the strap watches have been adopted for use in the army and navy, and that civilians are also wearing them in preference to the pocket watch … until recently, the bracelet watch has been looked upon by Americans as more or less of a joke. Vaudeville artists and motion picture actors have utilized it as a funmaker … now, however, since preparedness has become a watchword, and timepieces have become a necessary part of the equipment of soldiers, the status of the wristwatch is changing."

In 1916, the old saying that necessity is the mother of invention proved accurate once again as the pressures of practicality led to the rapid evolution of the modern wristwatch. And the war years would set the stage for the post-war economic boom that fueled the rise of modern luxury as we know it – and transformed the wristwatch from a piece of essential soldier's kit, to the vehicle for the incredible, almost limitless variety of timepieces we have today.

Written by Jack Forster