Home > Sell > Sell Gold > History of Gold Watches

Why WE Buy Watches

According to the article “Pocket Watch” on Wikipedia, “An early reference to the pocket watch is in a letter in November 1462 from the Italian clockmaker Bartholomew Manfredi to the Marchese di Manta, where he offers him a ‘pocket clock’ better than that belonging to the Duke of Modena.” However, according to the Hamilton Watch Company website, “The first watch is believed to have been made in Italy around 1524.” Peter Henlein, a master locksmith from Nuremberg, began to sell gold watches in England in 1524. From the beginning, gold was used most notably in the cases of gold watches, which prevented tarnishing.

In 1541, reforms were implemented by Jean Calvin banning the wearing of jewels in Switzerland, which made making watches a separate craft. One century later, many watchmakers moved to the Jura Mountain region because Geneva, Switzerland became overcrowded. Daniel Jeanrichard, only 16 years old in 1666, manufactured the very first watch in this region.

With the spiral balance spring having been developed in the 1600s, watches became portable and the spring allowed watches with two hands to be wound once a day. Roman numerals were added to the face of the watch to mark the minutes. Previously they were wound at least twice a day, only had one hand, and were highly inaccurate in keeping time. Jewels (usually synthetic rubies and sapphires) were used to make bearings that kept more accurate time. 1601 brought the first association, the Watchmakers’ Guild of Geneva (Switzerland). In 1675, Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens invented the balance wheel and hairspring.

Mashur Sheyh Dede, an Ottoman watchmaker, began selling gold watches that kept time in minutes in 1702. The “Perpetual” watch was developed in 1770 by Abraham-Louis Perrelet and was the predecessor to the modern self-winding watch.

In the late 1830s, Henry Pitkin and his brother made the first American pocket watches with machine-made parts. Adrien Phillipe, one of the founders of the Patek Phillipe Watch Company, invented pendant winding watches in 1842. By the 1850s, the United States led the way in mass production of watches and it didn’t take long for Europe to follow. Watches were first worn on a chain around the neck, then carried as pocket watches, followed by wrist watches.

According to the Smithsonian, Abraham Lincoln’s English gold watch was bought in Springfield, Illinois in the 1850s from George Chatterton. On April 13, 1861, Jonathan Dillon, an Irish immigrant and watchmaker for the M. W. Galt and Co. jewelers, was repairing President Lincoln’s gold watch when he first heard about the shot that started the Civil War at Fort Sumter. He engraved a message of hope in the watch that day, which was later confirmed.

Hamilton Watch Company started manufacturing watches in March 1894. Pocket watches were the first to be made with railroad watches being the most notable. Railroad workers were required to have watches in order to be able to keep accurate time of where trains were while traveling. Prior to the railroad watch, train wrecks were quite common. Keeping track of train locations was a matter of life and death for these workers. These train workers did not want to sell a gold watch!

Ladies pendant watches were next introduced in 1908. Ladies wrist watches were introduced after World War I and had ribbon or cloth straps to hold them in place.

Men’s wrist watches were considered “feminine” prior to the 1920s. Hamilton was at the head of the marketing campaign that was aimed at merchants to change men’s popular thinking of men’s wrist watches as “rugged” or “manly,” and first introduced the men’s wrist watch in November 1922 to the general public. In the late 1920s, stylish watches like the “Cushion,” “Square,” and “Tonneau” were introduced. In keeping with the Art deco designs of the 1930s, all watches were given names. During World War II, Hamilton developed military watches only and sold pre-war designs after the war. New designs in the 1950s had failed to capture public interest. Battery watches were first sold in 1952. In 1957, the “Ventura” was the first electric watch and was Hamilton’s best-ever selling gold watch.

The Beta 21, the world’s first quartz watch, was invented in 1967 by the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) in Neuchatel. This was immediately followed by LED and LCD displays. In the 1970s, electric watches became the most popular. In the 1990s, vintage mechanical watches once again became popular. Today, 30% of Swiss watches remain mechanical. Ninety percent of all gold watches are still made in Switzerland. The majority of gold cases are 18 karat gold, with 14 karat cases being made for Britain, Germany, and the United States. Unlike women’s watches, which can weigh as little as 8 grams, Rolex gold cases usually weigh 40 grams.

Gold pocket watches were once given as retirement gifts, as a way for a company to thank an employee for 30 or more years of dedicated service. Eventually the gold pocket watch was replaced by the gold wrist watch. As the times changed and people began working for companies for fewer years, the watch stopped being given away. Perhaps to sell gold watch was a good way for former employees to have extra money.

Where to Sell Your Gold Watch

You may be wondering, “Where can I sell my gold watch?” Good news! Cash4Gold will buy your gold watch, as long as it is no longer a working time-piece. Visit: www.theestatebuyer.com for questions about selling working watches.

More Sharing Options