History of the Wrist Watch | From Bracelets To Battlefields

The wristwatch evolved from 16th-century bracelet-mounted timepieces into a mainstream men’s accessory during World War I.

Few accessories carry a history as contested as the wristwatch. The story of how a piece of women’s jewelry became the standard on nearly every soldier’s wrist—and later your own—is full of disputed “firsts” and surprising twists. The modern wristwatch you wear today is the product of roughly four centuries of gradual development, not a single eureka moment.

When Was The First Wristwatch Made?

Historians disagree on the first wristwatch, and the answer depends on how you define it. The earliest known purpose-built example is generally credited to Abraham-Louis Breguet, who created a bracelet-style watch in 1810 or 1812 for Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples. Others point to Patek Philippe’s 1868 creation for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary as the first true wristwatch.

Before those landmark pieces, wrist-worn timepieces existed as far back as the 16th century, when European makers fixed small watches to bracelets. The oldest surviving example, a “bracelet watch” made for Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1806, shows the form had early aristocratic appeal.

One thing is clear: for most of their early history, wristwatches were women’s jewelry. Men carried pocket watches, and the wristwatch was considered too delicate—or too feminine—for everyday masculine use.

How Did The Wristwatch Become Mainstream?

World War I changed everything. Soldiers needed to coordinate timing while holding weapons, and fumbling for a pocket watch in the trenches was impractical. Wristwatches became essential battlefield tools, and returning veterans brought the habit home. By the late 1920s, what had been a women’s accessory was standard equipment for men.

This shift happened alongside major technical leaps. Watchmakers had already laid the groundwork:

• 1880: Girard-Perregaux produced about 2,000 wristwatches for German naval officers—an early military order.
• 1904: Louis Cartier created a wristwatch for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, often called the first widely popular men’s model.
• 1913: Seiko’s Laurel became Japan’s first wristwatch.
• 1922: John Harwood developed an early automatic self-winding movement.
• 1926: The Rolex Oyster arrived, widely described as the first waterproof wristwatch.

The National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors’ history of the wristwatch supports this timeline, noting the shift from decorative women’s pieces to practical military tools. By the late 1930s, shock-resistant movements were also in development, making wristwatches tougher than ever.

The Quartz Revolution Changed Everything

For over a century, mechanical wristwatches ruled. Then came December 25, 1969, when the first quartz watch hit the market at about $1,250—roughly $10,000 in today’s money. Quartz movements used a vibrating crystal instead of a mainspring, delivering accuracy mechanical watches couldn’t match at a fraction of the production cost.

The Seiko Museum’s own history pages trace how this innovation, followed by the Pulsar digital watch in 1972, reshaped the entire industry. The “quartz crisis” of the 1970s and 1980s nearly destroyed traditional Swiss watchmaking, forcing the industry to reposition mechanical watches as luxury items rather than everyday tools.

Why The “Inventor” Question Has No Clear Answer

If you search for the wristwatch’s inventor, you’ll find confident claims for Breguet, Patek Philippe, and others. The record is genuinely contested. Breguet’s 1810 commission for the Queen of Naples is the strongest early claim, but Patek Philippe’s 1868 piece for Countess Koscowicz is often cited as the first commercially recognized wristwatch. The Google Arts & Culture overview of watchmaking history treats both as significant milestones without picking a single winner.

The honest answer: the wristwatch emerged gradually. Early examples were modified pocket watches or jewelry pieces. The modern form—a watch designed from the start for the wrist—solidified in the early 1900s and went mainstream during World War I. That’s the history most watch historians agree on, whichever “first” you prefer. If you’re drawn to the elegance of vintage timepieces, our roundup of antique wrist watches for ladies covers the styles worth collecting.