The Origins of the Watch (hollywood mega store)
No commentsBy Kelvin Gentry
Before learning about watches you should be familiar with some of the terminology. The word horology has two meanings; it is the study or science of measuring time or the art of making clocks, watches, and devices for telling time.
Since the first appearance of man on the earth an effort has been made to measure time. The tracking of the sun’s movement across the sky, candles that were marked at intervals, oil lamps with a marked reservoir, sandglasses (hourglasses) are some of the ways in which time was measured. In the Orient knotted cords and small stone or metal mazes filled with incense that would be burned at a specific rate.
Water clocks did not depend on the observation of the sky or the sun. The earliest water clock was found in the tomb of Amenhotep I who was buried around 1500 B.C. Greeks called them clepsydras; they were stone containers with sloped sides that allowed water to drip at an almost constant rate from a small hole in the bottom. Other clepsydras were cylinders or bowl shaped designed to slowly fill up with water coming in at a near constant pace. Markings on the inside of the bowl marked the passage of the hours. Though this was used primarily at night, it is thought they were used in the day hours as well. A metal bowl with a hole the bottom was placed in a larger bowl filled with water. It would fill and then sink in a certain amount of time.
Since water flow was not exactly predictable and difficult to control the flow accurately, timepieces that depended on water were very inadequate. People were drawn to develop more accurate ways of measuring and telling time.
The development of quartz crystal clocks and timepieces depended on the crystal size, shape, and temperature to create a frequency. Quartz clocks and watches continue to be popular. They work well enough for the price and although they tend to be slightly ‘off’ the correct time most people can afford them.
The first watches had a natural movement but no minute hand. They had to be wound every twelve hours. Watches were originally worn more for adornment than functionality. Timepieces worked with weights but these were not practical in portable timepieces.
Time measurement has been a goal of man from the beginning and a time line will help you understand how we got to where we are with watches. Watches have so many new functions. They have the date, the time, times across time zones and some have stop watches. Most watches have some kind of an alarm in them. The possibilities are endless and I can really see a Dick Tracy type of watch being real.
Here is a timeline of watch history. Some of the years might not be listed in chronological order but I got them as close to it as possible. It is very interesting to learn how watches have developed. It’s amazing when I think of the minds of the people who had their hand in creating watches, how smart and technical they must have been!
Prior to 1600 - The main problem was the driving power the timepieces ran were balanced weights. This made it difficult to carry them around.
1524 - Henlien was paid fifteen Florins for a gilt musk-apple with a watch. This is the earliest date of watch production that is known.
1548 - Other watches appeared and were probably French or German in origin.
1575 - Swiss and English products began to appear. This was the period of the most advancements and innovation. First watch movements were made of steel and then later brass. They were straight verge watches with no balance and were highly inaccurate. The use of spiral-leaf main spring began. This allowed the power of a movement without hanging weights. These pieces were inconsistent in their accuracy.
1600 - 1675 - This was the age of decoration. Watches became more of a decoration and jewelry piece rather than being functional. The shape of cases changed from tambour cylinder with a lid, to a circular case with hinged, domed covers on the front and back. Champleve enamel and relieved case filled with colored enamel appeared.
1620 - The glass crystals were fitted to the cases as a typical alternative to metal opaque covers. The glass is translucent and allowed the owner to see the time without taking off the cover. In order to set the watch and see the time, the cover had to be removed.
1625 - Plain watches came about as the result of the Puritan movement.
After 1660 - Fancy shapes and adornments were seen mostly on ladies’ watches.
1675 - The spiral balance spring is first used in watches. The accuracy now was measured in fractions of minutes as opposed to fractions of hours. This increased accuracy caused watchmakers to create a dial that had a minute hand and was divided by minutes.
1675 - Charles II introduced waistcoats with pockets. Men now carried their watches in their pockets rather than on a pendant.
1704 - Dullier and Debeaigre developed a method of using jewels as bearings.
1715 - Sully found out that creating a small sink around each hole would retain the oil because of the surface tension.
1725 - It was common to find a large diamond endstone in the cock.
1750 - The names of watchmakers never appeared on the dials of watches till now.
1761 - John Harrison made a clock that was so accurate it was used to measure longitude during sea voyages.
1775 - Champleve is now rare.
Purrelet began production of self-winding watches.
1780 - Rareguel produced these watches.
1800 - The pocket chronometer was a readily available and accurate watch.
1814 - Massey was the first who used a push or pump with a rack that operated by pushing the pendant that turn on a ratchet basic or going bowl.
1850 - The United States were the first to use mass production with mixed results
1900 - Advances were made in metallurgy. This was the introduction of the balance spring on the first verge watch.
1952 - Battery powered watches became available.
1970 - Electronic watches were very successful.
Watches today use quartz crystals, batteries, and there are even atomic watches. Time tracking has never been more accurate and advances in the field of Horolgy are being made all the time.
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Is Jewelry Recession-Proof?
By Kelvin Gentry
In the post 9/11 economy, things for merchants and retailers have been a little shaky-but not for the many lucky entrepreneurs and businesspersons who earn their livings dealing in the jewelry industry. It seems that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, after all; and it seems that pricy, token gems might never see the day when they are declared: “officially out of style.”
One of the main secret ingredients to the longevity of the jewelry market is that jewelry, unlike many other things on the market, is not a fickle new consumer product and likewise not a passing fad. Styles over centuries change; this much we know is true. But one coveted centerpiece for the wrist and neckline of virtually every temptress from Helen of Troy and Cleopatra to today’s most popular fashion queens is the precious gem, one of natures finest own creations that have been even further perfected by the modern technologies of man. While clothing styles changed and evolved dramatically over time, from the loincloths and togas of our distant past to the poodle skirts and bellbottom jeans of much more recent decades, jewelry is the one and only ornamental element that has survived the weathering, changing times.
A symbol of wealth, beauty, power, and lust; jewelry, in all of its various forms, represents the human psyche, the human will, and even the human spirit. It is as rich as it is luxurious, and it holds a value entirely of its own, a value above the value of money. Of course, every gem does have its price; but remember, jewelry was traded long before the days of proper common monetary exchange-a striking green light to investors and buyers everywhere indicating that jewelry is one of the only goods on the market today that would still have worth, should the economy, as we know it, cease to exist.
In his research, Leon Lazaroff of the Chicago Tribune found that the economic sector devoted to luxury goods, one major category being jewelry, has remained relatively stable and unaffected by recent cutbacks in consumer spending. In today’s ever-tightening economy, studies show that people are beginning to buy less and spend less. But in looking at luxury goods retailers such as New York’s popularly pricy Tiffany & Co., statistics show that jewelry stores are typically not as economically sensitive as other retail stores.
Such findings might be attributed to the fact that, on the whole, those who are the most active jewelry purchasing customers are also those least likely to feel economic strain. The jewelry industry most often caters to the wealthy, a set of customers who are undeniably less prone to cut back on their jewelry spending just to make up for the rise in gas prices and things of that sort. They can afford to maintain their expensive tastes and habits, without much cause for worry on the status of inflation.
Because the government knows that jewelry spending is still on the rise, they continue to invest in it. The Pak Tribune tells us of Pakistan’s recent pledge to achieve $500 million in gem exports to the U.S. by 2010 is yet another a surefire sign that investing experts do not expect the worth of jewelry or the success of the industry to decline at all this decade. The United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID) is working on a new initiative to help increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized Pakistani enterprises. As a result, Pakistan’s Gems and Jewelry sector is now ready to claim its rightful place in the US’s high-level-export international market loop, and the U.S. is guaranteed a steady supply of quality foreign gems to keep quenching the world’s thirst for fine jewelry.
The jewelry industry remains on top, relatively untouched by the unpredictable twists, turns and flux’s of the world economy. This is somewhat due to the fact that the lure of our earth’s most prized and precious stones seems to not vary with the changes of time and circumstance. It is also due to the fact that jewelry is so often relied upon to uphold so many meaningful cultural traditions that have transcended the ages. Jewelry will always be a part of our social fabric, because it has been so deeply interwoven into our customs and traditions. Marriage proposals are met with diamond rings and bands of gold; a tradition so common to most of human history that it is highly unlikely that it will ever change. In an economy where the influx in gas prices means a decrease in sales for types of larger-model cars, it is at lest reassuring that the jewelry industry won’t suffer the same decrease in popularity.
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Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 5:45 pm and is filed under shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
