No element of men’s style combines fashion and function quite like the wristwatch. Nor does any other male accessory inspire such devotion and interest.
Nevertheless, in recent times there have been those who believed the watch had finally met its demise in the smartphone, and would fade away with other sartorial anachronisms like monocles and sock garters.
And yet the popularity of the wristwatch persists. To understand why, we need to understand the history of this timepiece, how its past continues to inform its present, and why a man might consider wearing a watch in the 21st century.
While the wristwatch has become a men’s style staple around the world, up until the late 19th century it was considered a piece of jewelry exclusively for women. Men preferred the pocket watch.
Before the 20th century, watches were extremely susceptible to the elements. Moisture, cold, heat, and dust could easily bungle the intricate gears and springs within a watch, causing it to lose its accuracy. As men were more likely to face these elements, and held positions in the military, business, and government that made accurate timekeeping more of a paramount concern for them than for women, care had to be taken to protect their timepieces and keep themselves on schedule. Function superseded fashion, so into the pocket men’s watches went, only to be taken out when needed.
As with most things in men’s style, it would take a war for patterns to change and for the watch to leave a man’s pocket and be placed on his wrist.Pocket watches required a free hand to use — you had to reach into your pocket and hold it while you checked the time. In the tumult of battle, a man needed all the hands he could get. So soldiers began improvising wristwatches by strapping their pocket watches on their arm with leather.
The case holds the inner working parts of the watch. Depending on the style of the watch, the case is usually made of stainless steel, because steel is resilient, handles light shocks that the watch could receive, and doesn’t tarnish. Cases can also be made of precious metals like gold or platinum, and can even be made of plastic in sports watches. The case can also come in different finishes like high-polish, smooth, matte, or a combination of any of those. The case also contains the movement itself, be it electronic (quartz) or automatic (self-winding). We’ll cover more on movements later.
The lugs are where the case of the watch connects to the strap or metal bracelet of the watch, by use of metal spring bars.
The crown is used to change the time. Some watches offer a date window and a seconds indicator, which are engaged by pulling the crown out. Crowns on water-resistant watches screw down into the case. The crown can have embellishments like precious stones, to indicate luxury and attention to detail.
The strap/buckle secures the watch to your wrist and there are a number of materials commonly used for these parts. Leather straps range from calfskin to lizard and more exotic offerings like ostrich, alligator, crocodile, and even toad. Instead of a strap, a metal bracelet is a popular option. Other options are nylon straps (for sportiness), satin straps (for dressiness), and rubber straps (for diving/watersports). Most watches allow straps and bracelets to be interchangeable so you can dress it up or down when you want to change the look of your watch.
The hands, usually broken down into hours and minutes, indicate the time. The hour hand is usually shorter in size than the minute hand. The hands can also have a slight design to them.
Other more complicated watches, such as chronographs (stop watches / timers), may have additional hands for their other functions, known as “complications”.
The bezel is the outer ring of the case that connects to the lugs. It is typically a flat-edged surface, but can also be rounded. The bezel can also have embellishments, like precious gemstones in upscale watches, and may be a different metal than the case itself, as in some two-tone watches.
The above pictures show three different kinds of watch bezels. The one on the left rotates, allowing to use as a stopwatch.While the other two are fixed, just a decoration.
The dial is where the watch can be the most expressive. It is the flat surface beneath the crystal, and can come in many color options, textures, and materials. Dials can use Roman numerals, Arabic numbers, or even more simple stick bar markers to indicate the time.