
In addition to the convenience, it also helped keep their timepieces safe from weather and other damages. This led to the rise of the pocket watch. They could watch the first and second hands to keep the time. The original clock watches were typically worn as pendants around the neck, but as waistcoats began to become a popular part of men’s fashion, consumers wanted an option that they could keep in their coat pockets. Not long after the invention of the first clock watches, consumers were looking for a new way to carry their timepieces. While Henlein is well-known as the first inventor of the watch, there is not actually any proof that he created the very first one. It’s important to note, though, that many other clockmakers were creating similar devices around this same time. He created one of these “clock watches” in the 15th century. The user just needed to wind the clock every so often in order to keep tension on the mainspring.Ī clockmaker from Nuremberg named Peter Henlein is typically credited with inventing the very first watch. When this was first invented, it was revolutionary, as clocks could be made much smaller and still keep time. A mainspring is basically a wound up piece of metal ribbon that functions as the power source in mechanical watches and mechanical clocks. This invention was possible due to the creation of a watch part called the mainspring in the early 15th century. These devices were made possible by the invention of a part called the mainspring. They acted as a transitory device between full-size clocks and watches that you could carry on your person. They called these creations clock watches, as they were a little bigger than what you know as a modern watch.
#15TH CENTURY ARMWATCH PORTABLE#
In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, European clockmakers started watchmaking personal, portable clocks, such as the German.

Humanity has had ways of time keeping for thousands of years, but the concept of a portable clock is relatively recent. Before the time of the Rolex clocks were the time of clocks and sundials. Watches or chronographs as we know them haven’t actually been around that long.
