Girard-Perregaux
It is well known that pocket watches were sometimes adapted to be worn on straps around the wrist perhaps as early as the late 16th century, but debate still lingers about which company developed the first true wristwatch — a watch precisely intended to be worn on the wrist.
Watch historians can confirm that the wristwatch was used on the battlefield in the late 1880s. The innovation proved to be a far more efficient way for soldiers to read and synchronize time. Previously, they had to rely on a pocket watch that had to be pulled out of their uniforms. Girard-Perregaux was the first brand to produce large quantities of wristwatches for the German military in the 1880s. While the wristwatch was a great innovation for the military, the truth of the matter is that the first wristwatch in the world was created decades earlier.
Patek Philippe
Both the Guinness Book of World Records and a company known as the World Record Academy have deemed the first wristwatch to be a jewelry item made in 1868 by Patek Philippe. The elaborate gold bracelet watch was made for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary and was designed specifically for use on the wrist.
Breguet, however, also lays claim to having created a watch specifically for a woman’s wrist — half a century earlier. Its archives state that in response to a commission from the Queen of Naples, dated 8 June 1810, Abraham-Louis Breguet began creating a unique wristwatch. Completed two and a half years later on December 21, 1812, the Breguet No. 2639 timepiece for the wrist featured a gold guilloché oblong-shaped case and was a repeating watch held by a wristlet of twisted hair and gold thread. Unfortunately that first wristwatch is untraceable today.
Capt & Freundler a’ Geneve
What is known is that in the Musee d’Horlogerie du Locle, Switzerland, there is a bracelet watch on display made by Capt & Freundler a’ Geneve, circa 1813, that seems to be a small pocket watch on an gem-adorned bracelet.
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