Openwork wristwatch by Hans Kool

About "Openwork wristwatch"

by Hans Kool

About the artwork

The wristwatch was invented by Breguet in 1810 following an order on 8 June that year from Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples.[1] Consequently, at the time, it was mainly seen as women's jewellery. However, in 1790 an account book of the Geneva watchmakers Jacquet-Droz and Leschot already mentions a watch attached to a (women's) bracelet. At the beginning of the 20th century, Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont experienced problems reading the time when he flew. He asked Louis Cartier, an acquaintance of his, for a watch that was easier to use. Cartier gave him a watch with a leather strap. Given the popularity Cartier enjoyed in Paris, he also sold other of these watches to men. During World War I, officers in the army found that it was easier to take a quick glance at the wristwatch than to pull out a pocket watch. Added to this, an increasing number of officers died in battle. They were replaced by soldiers who did not have pocket watches. The soldiers had no financial means to buy a pocket watch and thus depended on what the army offered them as watches. This along with the increasing need of the various army units to carry out their actions at the same times caused the army to provide their officers with reliable, but cheap, mass-produced watches. After the war, European and American officers were allowed to keep their watches, thus contributing to the popularity of wristwatches. Today, there is much ambiguity about which arm the wristwatch should be worn on,[2] with the majority of watch wearers being right-handed and wearing the watch on the left wrist. In addition, the wristwatch is worn on the left wrist to avoid shocks from the right hand which is usually used more.