We live in the age of smart-watches. Yet, the timeless mechanical watches are still quite popular and are bought by a wide group of fashion enthusiasts who love wearing conventional wrist watches even until now. Ever wondered where did this all begin? Who marked the advent of the classic wrist watches for both men & women? It can be quite difficult to trace the comprehensive history of wristwatches for women in the present era. It dates back to as early as the time of the 1800s.
Glorious History of Female Wrist Watches
During the olden times, watches were not considered to be some timeless pieces of beauty. To be highly precise, the first-ever chronicled wrist watch had been designed for women only. However, the history of female wrist watches tends to be highly fragmented owing to the fact of the stronger dominance of the male watch industry during the traditional times. The typical wrist watches for women were known as “wristlets” back then.
The First Strap Watch
The first-ever wrist watch of women has been credited to a man named Abraham Louis Breguet (1747 -1823). He had made the first-ever wrist watch for the Queen of Naples. The precise date of the manufacturing of the watch as per the historical records is 8th June, 1810. Later on, another wrist watch was made for the Countess Koscowicz of Hungary in 1869 by Patek Phillipe –a famous Swiss watch manufacturer. This watch by Patek was more of a costume jewelry than a typical wrist watch. From this time onwards for the next 1 to 2 centuries, wrist watches were considered to be a part of women’s accessories. Eventually, men started carrying pocket watches in their waist coat instead of wearing any wrist watch upon themselves.
Royal History of Watches for Ladies
As wrist watches became a part of women’s accessories, it is also presumed that Queen Elizabeth I as well as Queen Marie Antoinette wore special diamond-studded wrist watches. This was known as the special diamond “bracelet watch”. The royals and the aristocratic group was heavily influenced by the concept of bejeweled watches during the mid-1800s. However, these were associated only with women. These precious bejeweled watches for women were heavily expensive and were usually custom-made. As ladies of the traditional times had a strong thing for luxurious jewelry, it was no big deal wearing them only for show-off rather than for time-keeping.
After World War I
During the time of the late 1920s, the wristwatches for women continued to prevail. Even until now, men perceived watches as a thing for the women. The use of wrist watches on a regular basis did not become widespread until the time of the 1920s.
Mercedes Gleitz
The very famous image of Mercedes Gleitz during her English Channel swim was shown in the prestigious “Daily Mail” of 1927. This image also presented Mercedes along with 8 wrist watches for men, 2 pocket watches, and 15 wrist watches for ladies. The 1930 product line by Rolex –a leading watch manufacturer also showed the preference of the female wrist watches. Rolex featured 79 wrist watches for ladies, showing merely 37 watches for men along with 23 pocket watches. In addition to this, Rolex also capitalized its 1920’s offering of the Prince model of watch for men and Princess Watch model for women. Princess by Rolex served to be known for its ultimate accuracy and carried the prestigious Kew A Certificate as well. Moreover, it was also the most expensive watch for women for several years.
With such a history, it is really imperative to wear one. If you are looking to buy online, you can browse our exhaustive collection of wristwatches at
