How The Wristwatch Won Over The Pocket Watch
The Pocket Watch Was the Standard for Centuries
For most of horology’s history, the only way to carry a watch was in a pocket. Pocket watches were status symbols, precision instruments, and everyday tools rolled into one. They were worn on a chain, pulled out when you needed to check the time, and put away when you didn’t. For gentlemen in the 18th and 19th centuries, that was the only option.
The problem with the pocket watch was obvious: you had to stop what you were doing to check the time. In an era when punctuality was becoming a social and industrial requirement, that limitation started to matter. The wristwatch was the answer, but it took a long time to get there.
Soldiers and Aviators Forced the Change
The first real push toward the wristwatch came from people who couldn’t afford to fumble with a pocket watch. Soldiers in the field needed to coordinate movements without pulling out a watch. The British Army used wrist-mounted timepieces as early as the Anglo-Burma War in the 1880s, strapping pocket watches to wrists with leather straps. These were awkward hybrids, but they worked.
In 1904, Cartier created the Santos for Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aviator. Santos-Dumont complained that checking a pocket watch while flying was impractical, and Cartier designed a wristwatch specifically for him. The Santos is still in production today, and its clean Art Deco lines show that the wristwatch didn’t have to look like a compromise — it could be a design object in its own right.
Aviators and soldiers weren’t the only drivers. As automobiles became common and schedules tightened across society, the wristwatch became more practical for everyone. But it took decades for the stigma against men wearing wristwatches to fade. For a long time, wristwatches were considered jewelry for women, while men kept their pocket watches.
World War I Made the Wristwatch Universal
World War I was the turning point. Trench warfare required coordination, and pocket watches were useless when both hands were needed for a rifle, a shovel, or climbing through mud. Soldiers modified pocket watches with wire lugs so they could strap them to their wrists. These “trench watches” were crude but effective — and they proved that a wristwatch could survive harsh conditions.
After the war, returning soldiers kept wearing wristwatches. The stigma faded. Manufacturers began producing wristwatches designed from the ground up rather than adapted from pocket watches. The market shifted irreversibly.
The Rolex Oyster and the First Waterproof Wristwatch
In 1926, Rolex introduced the Oyster, the first-ever waterproof and dustproof wristwatch. The design used a hermetic case with a screw-down crown and case back. It wasn’t a marketing gimmick — Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel in 1927 wearing an Oyster, and the watch kept perfect time throughout. That single demonstration proved that wristwatches could be as rugged as any pocket watch, and more practical.
The Oyster established a template that Rolex has followed ever since: durable, practical, understated, and built to last. Every dive watch and sports watch that followed owes something to that original design logic.
The 1950s and 1960s: Wristwatches Reach Their Peak
The post-war decades were the golden age of the mechanical wristwatch. Brands refined their designs, added complications, and pushed the boundaries of what a wristwatch could do. The Rolex Submariner, introduced in 1953, set the standard for the modern dive watch — a rotating bezel, water resistance to 100 meters, and a design so timeless that it’s still in production. The Omega Speedmaster, introduced in 1957 as a racing chronograph, became even more famous for its role on the moon during the Apollo missions. In 1969, the Speedmaster became the first watch worn on the lunar surface.
Seiko was also expanding rapidly during this period. The Seiko SKX, introduced much later but representative of Seiko’s approach, brought reliable automatic movements to an affordable price point. It became a popular entry-level dive watch and remains a useful reference for what a no-frills automatic wristwatch should be.
By the late 1960s, the wristwatch had completed its transformation from military tool to everyday object to luxury item. It had been to war, to the ocean depths, and to space. The pocket watch was now a niche product for collectors.
The Quartz Crisis and the Reinvention of Mechanical Watches
The quartz crisis of the 1970s nearly destroyed the Swiss watch industry. Cheap, accurate quartz watches from Japan and the United States undercut mechanical watches on price and accuracy. Many brands disappeared. Those that survived had to rethink their entire value proposition.
The industry recovered by doubling down on what quartz couldn’t offer: craftsmanship, heritage, and emotional value. Mechanical watches became luxury goods rather than pure timekeeping tools. Prices rose, design became more important than utility, and the wristwatch transformed again — this time into a status object.
Why the Wristwatch Still Matters
Today, the wristwatch competes with smartphones and smartwatches for the basic function of telling time. But people still buy mechanical wristwatches for reasons that have nothing to do with knowing the hour. A good wristwatch is portable craftsmanship — a machine you wear, maintain, and eventually pass on. It carries history, design, and the satisfaction of mechanical engineering you can see and hear.
The journey from pocket watch to wristwatch is one of the most consequential shifts in the history of personal technology. It changed how people carried time, how they coordinated their lives, and how they signaled their values. The wristwatch won because it was more practical, more personal, and ultimately more interesting than the alternative.
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