Debate over the first wristwatch and a brief history of leather straps and steel bracelets.

Because I view myself a historian and I love watches, this is interesting to me. According to record, the first wristwatch was commissioned by Breguet in 1810 for the Queen of Naples. On June 8, 1810 the watch designer was tasked with making a design for a ‘repeater watch for bracelet.’

Here comes the debate: According to Guinness World Records, the first wristwatch was made in 1868 for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, by Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe. So who was it?

Hmmm. Good question. But that leads me where most men don’t want to talk about: wristwatches were first jewelry made for women. Yep, that’s right, for ladies. Men had pocket watches. Which of course were on chains or were just carried on their person.

What was the game changer? War. War gentlemen, had men strapping their watches with string but the most effective way to attach watches was with leather. In the First World War, men began wearing watches on the wrist to tell time at a glance and this helped with being able to move military more precisely.

So when do metal bracelets come on the scene? Although some metal bracelets were made in the early 1920s, they became more popular in the 1940s as metal bracelets became offered as add-ons for some luxury brands. Gay Frères created the Oyster bracelet for Rolex about that time, patented in 1947. Rolex acquired them in 1998 and streamlined production. The famous Jubilee bracelet was made to celebrate Rolex’s 40th anniversary.

One thing that I find interesting is that most people view the steel bracelet as more masculine than leather. Therefore, leather would be more feminine. In other words, most view leather as elegant over steel bracelets. But, I for one, love the Jubilee bracelet as one of the most elegant ways to dress a watch.

No matter how you view it, if you look at the information here you can understand why most see leather as more dressy than steel. Mainly because watches were first displayed on leather bands. So, I guess you can say style or vintage when thinking of leather. I for one, like both.

I think either steel or leather can dress a watch, and I did not even address the NATO strap. But I will leave that for another debate.

Let me know your thoughts and I hope this was useful.

Cheers!