The Jewelry That Tells Time

Watches nowadays tell more than just the time. They are able to publicly convey the bearer’s taste in fashion and his/her social standing. Nowadays it is more about luxury and lifestyle.

History of timepieces

In the old ages, men were able to tell the time by judging on the length of the shadows cast by a rock, or a tree, or by their own bodies. They observed that the shadows were longer earlier in the morning, became really short at noon, and then grew longer again in the late afternoon on the other side of the object casting the shadow.

The first sundial came about when a man placing a shadow stick on the ground and placing markers on the dirt to tell the hours as the shadows moved. This shadow stick was called “gnomon” the Greek term for “the one that knows.”

Ancient Egypt founded the use of the sundial, which was in the shape of an obelisk. It was further enhanced by other cultures such as the Romans, the Chinese, and the Greeks.

Along with the sundials, the early civilization also devised another instrument to measure time. They invented the water clock 10 1400 BCE. The water clock is made of stone vessels with inclined sides that permit the water to drip at a steady rate from a tiny hole close to the bottom.

It was speculated that in the 11th century, people who were at sea devised the hourglass to tell the time while inside the ship. After the 15th century, though, the hourglass was used widely at the sea and in the church. It also served the industry and several cookeries during that period. An hourglass is made of two glass bulbs placed on top of each other and connected by a narrow tube. One of the bulbs contains fine sand, which passes through the narrow connecting tube towards the other bulb. After all the sand has transferred to the other bulb, the hourglass is then inverted to measure another unit of time. Hourglasses were the first dependable and practically accurate timepieces.

People hypothesize that the earliest mechanical clocks were made in Asia. It was noted that in 797, the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad offered an Asian elephant together with a mechanical clock, which had a blue bird that comes out to tell the hours.

Medieval religious foundations required the mechanical clock to tell the time because daily prayer and work had to be scheduled and strictly monitored. The word “clock” was derived from the Latin term “clocca” which means “bell. In the old times clocks told the time using audible indicators.

In the 15th century, clockmakers started to make spring-driven clocks. During this period, the clock making industry flourished, as people were able to create smaller clocks like table clocks that were able to read to the nearest 15 minutes.

In their utmost efforts to come up with smaller and handier clocks, watches were created. In the 15th century, Peter Henlein invented the first pocket watch, which only had an hour hand. The development or dependable springs and escapement apparatus allowed the miniaturization of these portable clocks into something handier. In 1780, Breguet developed the first ever self-winding watch that was called the perpetuelle.

Louis Cartier created the first wristwatch for men in 1904, when his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont asked him to design a watch that would be handy during his flights. Wristwatches became popular among military officers during the First World War.

Wristwatches evolved through the years into 5 types: fashionable watches, dual-time watches, jewelry watches, computerized multi-function watches, and space watches.

Jewelry watches

Fancy wristwatches are often considered as jewelry or collectible art pieces, beyond just being plain instruments that tell the time. Diamond watches have grown very popular over the years because of their elegance and value. Fashion conscious people are quick to patronize these watches to match their stylish ensemble. Collectors, too, spend a fortune on these watches because these are priceless works of art for them.

Diamond watches need not be worn exclusively for special occasions. More and more people are wearing them on a daily basis.  Silver and gold are the standard metals used in making jewelry watches. Diamonds are usually used as markers on the watch. These markers may be simple, or they may be elaborate in design. Diamonds may also be used as dials. Diamond watches made from high quality diamonds take years to create.

Some people opt for trendier and more fashionable diamond watches. Manufacturers have come up with different styles to accommodate the people’s varying tastes. Very popular these days are the sporty diamond watches. Diamonds on these watches are placed either on the case or on the watch’s dial. They may either be full paved or half paved. Bracelets or straps are made brightly colored to improve the fashion quotient of the watch.. Some still opt for the classic white straps.

“Bling-bling” diamond watches have also gained popularity. These watches are larger and have oversized studs, because for hip-hop aficionados, flashier is always better.

The most expensive diamond watch in the world was valued at a whopping $25 Million. The watch contained a 15-carat pink heart diamond, a 12-carat blue heart diamond, and an 11-carat white heart diamond. These diamonds were set on a bracelet lined with more fancy-shaped white and yellow diamonds designed into little flowers. The total weight of these white and yellow diamonds was 163 carats.  When the spring-loaded instrument is pressed, the 3 heart shapes open up to reveal the watch, which is also iced with diamonds.

In December 1999 the most expensive pocket watch, valued at $11 Million, was made exclusively for Henry Graves, a New York financier. Patek Phillipe spent 3 years designing the gold pocket watch and 5 years producing it.

The third most expensive watch in the world was the Piaget Polo Watch, valued at $894,000. The case, bracelet, and dial were made of white gold set with 498 baguette-cut diamonds weighing 51.9 carats total.