The First Women's and Men's Watches

The history of the wristwatch begins in the 16th century. Even then, it was worn as a pocket watch by both ladies and gentlemen. Peter Henlein made the first portable pocket watch in 1504. It took him two years to produce this example. It was a fairly large and very plain iron pocket watch that cannot be compared with today’s wristwatches in terms of precision and individuality.

Ladies' watches were initially made primarily for the European nobility by goldsmiths in the most unusual designs. For example, the Queen of Scotland had a silver skull made as the case of a watch, with the watch inside it. This watch was worn more as an accessory. Women often wore it as a pendant on a necklace or at the hip. Today, these small works of art can often be spotted at second glance in portraits of nobles.
Wearing a watch on the wrist only became established after World War I and had purely practical reasons. For officers, using pocket watches during the war was impractical.

Both ladies' watches and men's watches still combine the qualities of a piece of jewelry with new technology.