Why did men’s watches move from pocket to wrist?

Soldiers in complex battle situations found pocket watches clumsy to carry and operate in combat. So they were fitted onto leather straps with a ‘cup’ for the watch to rest in and worn on the wrist to free up the hands. The first men’s wristwatches were issued to all officers in the German navy in 1880 and proved invaluable for synchronising naval attacks. Early military watches had leather straps and reinforced glass faces covered with a metal grille, often made of silver, to protect them from damage; from 1906 many watches were attached to expandable metal bracelets for adaptability.

By the First World War, the wristwatch had become a necessity for all troops and companies, such as Patek Philippe and Rolex, rushed to fulfil the demand. Hans Wilsdorf, one of the founders of Rolex, experimented doggedly to improve the accuracy and reliability of his watches. In 1926, he introduced the first waterproof watch, the Rolex Oyster. Although many soldiers had returned home from the front with souvenir ‘trench watches’, the wristwatch was still scorned by snobbish civilians. ‘Real’ men would still tell the time by their fob or pocket watch, and it was women who took to the wristwatch by the million.