About Replica Watches
The history of watches and time keeping is about as old as the history of the human race. The oldest extant sun-dial can be found in Egypt and dates back to 1500 BCE. We know that the early Egyptians used the pyramids as well as the obelisks as a forerunner to the sundial.
It is said that one of the first watches was created in Italy around 1524 CE. The main problem for portable time keeping before the 1600s was the lack of driving power. Timepieces of that era were typically driven by weights making it very difficult for portable use. The inaccuracy of timepieces in this era were very common and most watches only had one hand that had to be wound at least twice a day.
It was not until 1675 CE that the implementation of a spiral balance spring changed timekeeping forever by taking timekeeping accuracy from fractions of an hour to fractions of a minute. It was then a second hand was added to the watch. At this time Roman numerals were added to mark the minutes. Eventually, due to rapid development, a watch would only have to be wound once a day instead of every twelve hours.
The Swiss watch industry was born in Geneva in the 16th century. In 1541, reforms implemented by Jean Calvin and banning the wear of jewels, forced the goldsmiths and other jewellers to turn into a new, independent craft : watchmaking. By the end of the century, Genevan watches were already reputed for their high quality, and watchmakers created in 1601 the Watchmakers’ Guild of Geneva, the first to be established anywhere.
Watches have developed into what they are today mostly in the 19th century with the onset of metallurgy. This is the time when a watch has progressed form a pocket watch form-factor to a wrist watch. Development of stronger, more durable materials allowed for smaller parts and more complex design. The chronograph became available, often with datework, alarmwork and moonwork etc. Watches were also made more robust, with mechanisms to make them waterproof, shockproof, and able to function in extremes of pressure, vacuum and gravity.
