National Watch Day

History of Watch Day

Since the 16th century, when the watch was invented in Europe, people have been able to travel, keep appointments and do all sorts of activities all while staying on time.

Watches began as a timepiece that a person would keep in their pockets, and men’s vests were even designed with a special pocket just for this purpose.

By the mid 19th century, the watch was first attached to a leather strap that would allow it to be worn on the wrist, which was both ornamental as well as functional.

From this time, the making of watches would continue to evolve, offering more precision, better time-keeping and a variety of functions. By the early 20th century, water-resistant watches were invented and, within a few decades, the digital and computer watch was revealed.

National Watch Day was first established in 2017 by the high end department store mogul, Nordstrom. This American luxury retail chain founded the day with the purpose of showing some attention to the fascinating history and design of the craft of watchmaking.

And, of course, since Nordstrom sells watches, it also makes sense that they would be working toward promoting the usefulness and beauty of watches that they hope their customers will buy.

So get on board with learning more about and celebrating this little piece of timeless technology that has been an amazingly useful tool for centuries. Because it’s time for National Watch Day!

Facts About National Watch Day

Military Wristwatches Changed How Armies Fought  

Before wristwatches became everyday accessories, they were treated as battlefield tools.

During World War I, officers and soldiers began strapping modified pocket watches to their wrists so they could coordinate artillery barrages and infantry advances to the minute without fumbling for a pocket watch under fire.

This need for precise, hands‑free timing helped normalize wristwatches for men and pushed manufacturers to design robust, easily readable “trench watches” that evolved into modern military and field watches.  

The Quartz Revolution Nearly Crushed Swiss Watchmaking

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the arrival of cheap, highly accurate quartz watches from Japan and elsewhere triggered what the Swiss industry still calls the “quartz crisis.”

According to the Seiko Museum, the number of Swiss watch companies fell from more than 1,600 in 1970 to fewer than 600 by the mid‑1980s, and tens of thousands of jobs disappeared.

The eventual recovery, built on consolidation and a focus on luxury mechanical pieces alongside low‑cost Swatch quartz models, shaped the modern split between prestige mechanical watches and mass‑market electronic ones.  

Radium-Painted Watch Dials Reshaped Workplace Safety  

In the early 20th century, factories in places like New Jersey and Illinois hired young women to paint watch and instrument dials with radium-based luminous paint, instructing them to point their brushes between their lips for finer detail.

Over time, many developed “radium jaw,” bone cancers, anemia, and other severe radiation injuries as the radium settled in their skeletons.

The lawsuits and medical investigations around these “Radium Girls” became landmark cases in occupational health, leading to bans on lip-pointing, stricter handling rules for radioactive materials, and broader protections for industrial workers.  

ISO Standards Turned Dive Watches Into Serious Instruments 

Although early waterproof watches appeared in the 1920s and 1930s, modern dive watches are governed by a formal technical rulebook.

ISO 6425, first issued in the 1980s, sets tests for water resistance, condensation, shock, magnetic fields, and legibility that a watch must pass to be labeled a “diver’s watch.”

This means a true dive watch is more than a styling cue: it has been designed and tested to survive depths of at least 100 meters and to remain readable and reliable in harsh underwater conditions. 

Military Specs Defined the Look of Pilot’s Watches 

The familiar features of a pilot’s watch, such as a large dial, bold numerals, and oversize crown, grew out of aviation’s practical demands rather than fashion.

Early 20th‑century and World War II military specifications required watches that could be read at a glance in a vibrating cockpit and operated with gloved hands.

Brands like IWC and Omega developed pilot’s watches with highly legible black dials, luminous markers, and prominent crowns, aesthetic traits that still signal “aviation watch” to collectors today. 

From LED Bricks to Wrist Computers  

The first digital LED wristwatches, like the Pulsar P1 introduced in 1972 by Hamilton and Electro/Data, displayed time as glowing red digits and cost as much as a used car.

Within a few years, calculator watches from brands such as Hewlett‑Packard and Casio turned the wrist into a tiny adding machine, popular with engineers and students.

These early “wrist computers” laid the groundwork for later programmable and connected devices that would eventually evolve into modern smartwatches.  

Microsoft’s SPOT Watches Were Early Connected Wearables

A decade before the Apple Watch, Microsoft tried to put live data on the wrist with its SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) watches, launched in 2004.

Using an FM radio subcarrier service called MSN Direct, these watches could receive continuously updated weather, stock quotes, news headlines, and even short messages without relying on a smartphone.

Encyclopaedia Britannica notes SPOT as one of the earliest “true” smartwatches, illustrating how connectivity experiments in the 2000s paved the way for today’s app‑driven wearables.