Pearl Star

The unique styling and oval face meant that William Anthony’s Pearl Star pocket watch was the first to be made with ‘expanding hands’.  When the watch indicated it was 12 o’clock the hands would be fully extended to the top of the case, whereas at quarter to and quarter past the hour the hands would become shorter so that they wouldn’t fit within the sides of the case.  Considering this watch was made over 200 years ago, this is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual

The Rolex Oyster was a significant milestone in the evolution of the wrist watch as it was the first to be made waterproof.  Rolex has always been an innovator of timepiece technology and the perpetual movement, first designed by Louis Perrelet in the 1750s, was perfected by Rolex in this model of watch.  It worked by having a small weight wound around the watch.  This weight would then move as the wearer moved their arm, eliminating the need for daily winding - hence the watch ran ‘perpetually’.  The Rolex Oysterl Perpetual celebrates its’ 100th anniversary this year.

Patek Philippe Graves

In 1933 New York Banker Henry Graves Jr. asked Patek Philippe to make him the most complicated possible at the time.  The resulting creation was called the ‘Graves Complication’ and had an impressive 24 functions.  The styling looks remarkably similar to some of the more rugged watches available today.  The Graves Complication was way ahead of it’s time and in 1999 was sold at auction for an incredible $11 million.

The Rolex Oyster was a significant milestone in the evolution of the wrist watch as it was the first to be made waterproof.  Rolex has always been an innovator of timepiece technology and the perpetual movement, first designed by Louis Perrelet in the 1750s, was perfected by Rolex in this model of watch.  It worked by having a small weight wound around the watch.  This weight would then move as the wearer moved their arm, eliminating the need for daily winding - hence the watch ran ‘perpetually’.  The Rolex Oysterl Perpetual celebrates its’ 100th anniversary this year.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

This watch is responsible for the popularity of titanium, steel and ceramics popular as watch materials to this day.  Audemars Piguet was founded in 1854 and catered their high-end watches to only the most exclusive of clientele.  By the 1970s most Swiss watch manufacturers were using precious metals and jewellery in their watches, however in 1972 Audemars Piguet made the world’s first stainless steel luxury watch thanks to famed designer Gerald Genda.  The first watch cost approximately $2000 and has undergone several different incarnations since then, including the Outdoor Survivor edition which cost a massive $42,000.

Jaeger LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon

18th century watcmaker Abraham-Louis Bregue pioneered the first tourbillons during the French revolution.  They were crucial to the evolution of the watch as they offset the effects that gravity had on the balance wheel (the gear inside the movement which measures out seconds).  Jaeger-LeCoultre improved on this mechanism by creating the gyrotourbillon, which was a three dimensional wheel which rotated in a similar way to a tiny planet on the watch face.  This combination of a 300 year old invention and modern engineering techniques resulted in one of the most mechanically impressive watches the world had ever seen.

This watch is responsible for the popularity of titanium, steel and ceramics popular as watch materials to this day.  Audemars Piguet was founded in 1854 and catered their high-end watches to only the most exclusive of clientele.  By the 1970s most Swiss watch manufacturers were using precious metals and jewellery in their watches, however in 1972 Audemars Piguet made the world’s first stainless steel luxury watch thanks to famed designer Gerald Genda.  The first watch cost approximately $2000 and has undergone several different incarnations since then, including the Outdoor Survivor edition which cost a massive $42,000.

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An interesting story surfaced last month as art experts discovered what they thought may be the world’s oldest painting to feature a watch.

The painting (pictured above) shows Italian nobleman Cosimo l de’Medici holding what looks like a watch and is estimated by curators at the Science Museum to be 450 years old.

Curator at the Science Museum , Rob Skitmore says of the piece “The watch itself would have been a virtuoso piece at that time, probably made in southern Germany, and the picture also shows its separate alarm mechanism that was used with it at night.”

It is know that Cosimo was a patron of science and technology so it is all the more plausible that he would own a watch of this kind.

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• A is for ARNOLD, JOHN - English Watchmaker (Born 1736, died 1799).  John Arnold and his rival, Thomas Earnshaw were the first to produce chronometers in significant quantities.  Arnold set up a small factory in Essex in 1788 where he was the first to produce a pocket chronometer.  He turned his attention to more accurate timepieces, eventually inventing one of such quality that Captain James Cook used it on his south sea voyages!

John Arnold

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Theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein would never have formulated his theory of relativity without of course being able to tell the time.  So what sort of watch do you think he had?  Something as novel as this, perhaps?

Unfortunately not - Herr Einstein managed to keep his ego under control.   It turns out that he was more of a Longines man.  We have managed to dig out a photo where he is pictured with his wrist watch, which he was apparently presented with in 1931:

You can only just make it out in this photo, however his Longines watch was recently auctioned where it managed to fetch 2000% of it’s estimated price.  Here you can see it in all it’s glory - it is inscribed with ‘prof Albert Einstein’:

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