Some Watch Events
Product Description
1952: Breitling introduces the "Navitimer" which becomes the quintessential pilot's watch.
1953: The "Submariner" introduced by Rolex.
1954: Rolex launches the "GMT Master".
1955: Rene Bannwart, designer for Omega, leaves the company to start up his own watch brand and Company named Corum.
1955: Louis Essen and JVL Perry develop the first Atomic Clock.
1956: Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date.
1957: Hamilton introduces the world's first battery driven watch. The watch had its share of problems but marked the beginning of a very serious crisis in the Swiss mechanical watch industry, almost leading to its complete demise.
1957: Buren makes the first self winding watch with a micro rotor.
1959: Piaget introduces the 12P, the thinnest self winding watch in the world at 2.33 mm thick.
1960: Bulova introduces its very successful "Accutron" model. This battery-operated watch replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork. The system was much more accurate than previous battery operated watches.
1961: Movado introduces the "Museum" watch, a model remaining popular till to day. The dial had been designed 14 years earlier by Nathan George Horwitt.
1962: Rado produces the world's first scratch proof watch called the "Diastar 1", a classic still popular in some markets to day.
1962: ETA of Switzerland develops the first quartz battery operated watch called the "Beta 21". This is by far the most accurate and dependable system to date. Instead of starting to produce quartz watches for the general public, they did not use this new, by them invented, technology and continued to produce mechanical movements.
1966:Girard-Perregaux produces the world's first high frequency mechanical movement, (36,000 vibrations per hour). Most mechanical watches have a rate of 18,800 or 28,800 vibrations per hour.
1969: Seiko introduces the "Astron", the first quartz watch available to the general consumer. Not many Astrons were made, but this marked the beginning of the Japanese quartz watch domination.
1969: Man lands on the moon and NASA choses the Omega Speedmaster as the watch to go to the moon with them. The Omega Speedmaster remains the first watch worn on the moon.
1969: In a race to develop the first self winding chronograph, Zenith and Movado collaborate to introduce the "El Primero".
1970: Hamilton releases the "Pulsar", the first electronic digital watch. At the push of a button, the light emitting diode (LED) would light up the red numbers. This was easy to read, but exhausted batteries quickly.
1972: Longines and Seiko introduce a new type of digital display with the LCD, (Liquid Crystal Display). It displays the time continously, in contrast with the LED's push button method.
1972: Audemars Piguet introduces the "Royal Oak", the first stainless steel luxury sports watch. What seemed risky back then, is the leading trend today.
1974: Paul Picot founded.
1976: Patek Philippe introduces the "Nautilus".
1976: Citizen makes the first light powered watch.
1979: Vacheron Constantin introduces the "Kallista", the world's most expensive watch. With 130 carats of diamonds, it is worth approximately 9 million dollars.
1979: Concord releases the "Delirium", the world's thinnest watch, (1.98mm). As the battle for the thinnest watches continues, the Delirium IV is released at an amazing .98 mm thick. Thin, but not very practical, as the case would bend on the wearer's wrist.
1980: Hublot founded.
1983: Despite the popularity of quartz watches, Gerd Lang starts his own mechanical watch company named Chronoswiss.
1983: SMH of Switzerland launches the Swatch brand. It immediately takes off and gives the inexpensive Japanese quartz watch brands a run for their money. The many different and sometimes crazy styles were an instant success, and at about $35, people bought not just one but many. Several limited edition Swatches have fetched hundreds, even thousands, of Swiss Francs in the collectors' market.
1984: The Texas-based Fossil watch brand is launched. With its retro styling and packaging, Fossil limited editions are an instant success with collectors.
Mid 1980s: The mechanical watch starts to make a comeback. Digital "fatigue" and appreciation for the true values of genuine mechanical masterpieces made in a centuries old tradition resurge.
1985:The Swiss Heuer Company merges with TAG to form TAG Heuer.
1985: IWC releases the "Da Vinci", a self winding, perpetual calendar which enjoys continued success today.
1985: Citizen introduces the "Aqualand", the first diver's watch with a depth sensor.
1985: Ulysse Nardin introduces the "Astrolabium Galileo Galilei" which makes it into the Guiness Book of Records. This watch indicates the position of the sun, moon, and stars. It also shows sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, moon phases, moon rise and moon set, eclipses of the sun and moon, the month and the day. It was developed by Ulysse Nardin's in house genius Ludwig Öchslin and he would later develop two other complicated watches to form a trilogy set.
1986: Patek Philippe introduces the secular calendar, which factors out the adjustment in the gregorian calendar every 400 years.
1986: Audemars Piguet introduces the first self winding tourbillon.
1987: Alain Silberstein of Besançon, France opens his own watch company. His designs remain truly unique and instantly recognizable.
1988: Chronoswiss makes the first regulator wristwatch.
1988: Ulysse Nardin's Ludwig Öchslin develops the "Planetarium Copernicus", a watch that displays the position of the planets in relation to the Sun and Earth. It also shows the moon rotating around the Earth and has a perpetual calendar indicating the month and signs of the zodiac.
1988: Jean d'Eve and Seiko release watches that are automatic / quartz hybrids. The rotor inside charges the watch, so battery replacement is not necessary. Though this system had its problems, this technology would be improved and reintroduced later by Seiko.
1989: The world's most complicated watch, the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 is sold for 3.2 million dollars (including commissions etc.). It has 33 different functions and took nine years to complete.
1990: Daniel Roth, who was instrumental in the rebirth of the Breguet brand, launches his own brand of watches bearing his name.
1991: Junghans unveils the "Mega 1", the first watch capable of receiving a radio signal to synchronize the watch with an atomic clock.
1991: Franck Muller founded.
1991: At the height of the Swatch craze, the "Kiki Picasso" Swatch sells for 62,000 Swiss Francs.
1992: Timex unveils "Indiglo", a back lit display that illuminates the entire dial equally. This is by far the easiest watch to read in the dark. Today this same system can be found on many watches, ranging from Timex to Omega.
1992: Ulysse Nardin completes their trilogy set with the "Tellurium Johannes Kepler". This piece shows the rotation of the Earth as seen from the North Pole. It also shows which part of the Earth is exposed to the sun, and indicates sunrise and sunset. Lastly it shows the moon rotating around the Earth and eclipses of the sun and the moon.
1994: Seiko unveils the "Kinetic", a greatly improved automatic / quartz hybrid compared to the one they made in 1988. Now there are similar movements in Swiss watches.
1994: The A. Lange & Söhne brand is revived in Germany and quickly earns a position on top of the horological world along with the most prestigious Swiss brands.
1994: After years of planning, Roland Murphy introduces his own watch brand, (RGM).
1995: Symbolic of our lives becoming more dependent on computers, Timex unveils the "Data-Link". The watch "reads" information off of a computer screen to remember schedules, telephone numbers, etc.
1995: Citizen releases a line of "Eco-Drive" solar powered watches. Much better looking (not as obviously solar) than previous solar powered watches (designed by the famous Swiss designer Jörg Hysek), they last an amazing 500 days on a full charge.
1996: Philippe Dufour unveils the "Duality". The movement feature two escapements which average against each other to improve accuracy. This system was developed to rival the tourbillon.
1996: Parmigiani brand launched.
1996: Rado unveils the "Vision 1", a watch that features a crushed diamond crystal. Until now sapphire crystals were the hardest. The Vision 1 remains an experimental model not being produced for the public at large as of yet.
1997: Patek Philippe unveils their "Annual Calendar" which runs without being adjusted for one full year.
1999: Watches that run on the difference in temperature between the air and the wearer's wrist are launched by Seiko (the "Thermic") and Citizen.
1999: Omega unveils the "Co-Axial". This movement was developed by George Daniels and has a new escapement that has less friction, which results in higher accuracy and requires less service.
1999: Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).
1999: IWC introduces the "Deep One", the first mechanical watch with a depth gauge.
2001: Swatch introduces the thinnest chronograph ever.
Tissot introduces the T-Touch - the first touch screen chronograph watch ever made.
1953: The "Submariner" introduced by Rolex.
1954: Rolex launches the "GMT Master".
1955: Rene Bannwart, designer for Omega, leaves the company to start up his own watch brand and Company named Corum.
1955: Louis Essen and JVL Perry develop the first Atomic Clock.
1956: Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date.
1957: Hamilton introduces the world's first battery driven watch. The watch had its share of problems but marked the beginning of a very serious crisis in the Swiss mechanical watch industry, almost leading to its complete demise.
1957: Buren makes the first self winding watch with a micro rotor.
1959: Piaget introduces the 12P, the thinnest self winding watch in the world at 2.33 mm thick.
1960: Bulova introduces its very successful "Accutron" model. This battery-operated watch replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork. The system was much more accurate than previous battery operated watches.
1961: Movado introduces the "Museum" watch, a model remaining popular till to day. The dial had been designed 14 years earlier by Nathan George Horwitt.
1962: Rado produces the world's first scratch proof watch called the "Diastar 1", a classic still popular in some markets to day.
1962: ETA of Switzerland develops the first quartz battery operated watch called the "Beta 21". This is by far the most accurate and dependable system to date. Instead of starting to produce quartz watches for the general public, they did not use this new, by them invented, technology and continued to produce mechanical movements.
1966:Girard-Perregaux produces the world's first high frequency mechanical movement, (36,000 vibrations per hour). Most mechanical watches have a rate of 18,800 or 28,800 vibrations per hour.
1969: Seiko introduces the "Astron", the first quartz watch available to the general consumer. Not many Astrons were made, but this marked the beginning of the Japanese quartz watch domination.
1969: Man lands on the moon and NASA choses the Omega Speedmaster as the watch to go to the moon with them. The Omega Speedmaster remains the first watch worn on the moon.
1969: In a race to develop the first self winding chronograph, Zenith and Movado collaborate to introduce the "El Primero".
1970: Hamilton releases the "Pulsar", the first electronic digital watch. At the push of a button, the light emitting diode (LED) would light up the red numbers. This was easy to read, but exhausted batteries quickly.
1972: Longines and Seiko introduce a new type of digital display with the LCD, (Liquid Crystal Display). It displays the time continously, in contrast with the LED's push button method.
1972: Audemars Piguet introduces the "Royal Oak", the first stainless steel luxury sports watch. What seemed risky back then, is the leading trend today.
1974: Paul Picot founded.
1976: Patek Philippe introduces the "Nautilus".
1976: Citizen makes the first light powered watch.
1979: Vacheron Constantin introduces the "Kallista", the world's most expensive watch. With 130 carats of diamonds, it is worth approximately 9 million dollars.
1979: Concord releases the "Delirium", the world's thinnest watch, (1.98mm). As the battle for the thinnest watches continues, the Delirium IV is released at an amazing .98 mm thick. Thin, but not very practical, as the case would bend on the wearer's wrist.
1980: Hublot founded.
1983: Despite the popularity of quartz watches, Gerd Lang starts his own mechanical watch company named Chronoswiss.
1983: SMH of Switzerland launches the Swatch brand. It immediately takes off and gives the inexpensive Japanese quartz watch brands a run for their money. The many different and sometimes crazy styles were an instant success, and at about $35, people bought not just one but many. Several limited edition Swatches have fetched hundreds, even thousands, of Swiss Francs in the collectors' market.
1984: The Texas-based Fossil watch brand is launched. With its retro styling and packaging, Fossil limited editions are an instant success with collectors.
Mid 1980s: The mechanical watch starts to make a comeback. Digital "fatigue" and appreciation for the true values of genuine mechanical masterpieces made in a centuries old tradition resurge.
1985:The Swiss Heuer Company merges with TAG to form TAG Heuer.
1985: IWC releases the "Da Vinci", a self winding, perpetual calendar which enjoys continued success today.
1985: Citizen introduces the "Aqualand", the first diver's watch with a depth sensor.
1985: Ulysse Nardin introduces the "Astrolabium Galileo Galilei" which makes it into the Guiness Book of Records. This watch indicates the position of the sun, moon, and stars. It also shows sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, moon phases, moon rise and moon set, eclipses of the sun and moon, the month and the day. It was developed by Ulysse Nardin's in house genius Ludwig Öchslin and he would later develop two other complicated watches to form a trilogy set.
1986: Patek Philippe introduces the secular calendar, which factors out the adjustment in the gregorian calendar every 400 years.
1986: Audemars Piguet introduces the first self winding tourbillon.
1987: Alain Silberstein of Besançon, France opens his own watch company. His designs remain truly unique and instantly recognizable.
1988: Chronoswiss makes the first regulator wristwatch.
1988: Ulysse Nardin's Ludwig Öchslin develops the "Planetarium Copernicus", a watch that displays the position of the planets in relation to the Sun and Earth. It also shows the moon rotating around the Earth and has a perpetual calendar indicating the month and signs of the zodiac.
1988: Jean d'Eve and Seiko release watches that are automatic / quartz hybrids. The rotor inside charges the watch, so battery replacement is not necessary. Though this system had its problems, this technology would be improved and reintroduced later by Seiko.
1989: The world's most complicated watch, the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 is sold for 3.2 million dollars (including commissions etc.). It has 33 different functions and took nine years to complete.
1990: Daniel Roth, who was instrumental in the rebirth of the Breguet brand, launches his own brand of watches bearing his name.
1991: Junghans unveils the "Mega 1", the first watch capable of receiving a radio signal to synchronize the watch with an atomic clock.
1991: Franck Muller founded.
1991: At the height of the Swatch craze, the "Kiki Picasso" Swatch sells for 62,000 Swiss Francs.
1992: Timex unveils "Indiglo", a back lit display that illuminates the entire dial equally. This is by far the easiest watch to read in the dark. Today this same system can be found on many watches, ranging from Timex to Omega.
1992: Ulysse Nardin completes their trilogy set with the "Tellurium Johannes Kepler". This piece shows the rotation of the Earth as seen from the North Pole. It also shows which part of the Earth is exposed to the sun, and indicates sunrise and sunset. Lastly it shows the moon rotating around the Earth and eclipses of the sun and the moon.
1994: Seiko unveils the "Kinetic", a greatly improved automatic / quartz hybrid compared to the one they made in 1988. Now there are similar movements in Swiss watches.
1994: The A. Lange & Söhne brand is revived in Germany and quickly earns a position on top of the horological world along with the most prestigious Swiss brands.
1994: After years of planning, Roland Murphy introduces his own watch brand, (RGM).
1995: Symbolic of our lives becoming more dependent on computers, Timex unveils the "Data-Link". The watch "reads" information off of a computer screen to remember schedules, telephone numbers, etc.
1995: Citizen releases a line of "Eco-Drive" solar powered watches. Much better looking (not as obviously solar) than previous solar powered watches (designed by the famous Swiss designer Jörg Hysek), they last an amazing 500 days on a full charge.
1996: Philippe Dufour unveils the "Duality". The movement feature two escapements which average against each other to improve accuracy. This system was developed to rival the tourbillon.
1996: Parmigiani brand launched.
1996: Rado unveils the "Vision 1", a watch that features a crushed diamond crystal. Until now sapphire crystals were the hardest. The Vision 1 remains an experimental model not being produced for the public at large as of yet.
1997: Patek Philippe unveils their "Annual Calendar" which runs without being adjusted for one full year.
1999: Watches that run on the difference in temperature between the air and the wearer's wrist are launched by Seiko (the "Thermic") and Citizen.
1999: Omega unveils the "Co-Axial". This movement was developed by George Daniels and has a new escapement that has less friction, which results in higher accuracy and requires less service.
1999: Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).
1999: IWC introduces the "Deep One", the first mechanical watch with a depth gauge.
2001: Swatch introduces the thinnest chronograph ever.
Tissot introduces the T-Touch - the first touch screen chronograph watch ever made.
