Antique jewelry glossary

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Wrist watch

A type of small watch worn on a wristband by a man or woman. The first example was made by Cartier in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont who found use of his fob watch difficult; it was a round-cornered, square watch, and the design is dtill copied. Such watches became popular after World War I owing to the practicality in wearing and referring to them while the wearer's hands were otherwise engaged.

They are now made in various styles, sizes, and qualities, with hands or moving digits to show the time, and activated by traditional movements or by quartz. Although basically utilitarian, examples that may be classified as jewelry have been made with cases of gold or platinum, set with gemstones. The case of some such watches for men's use is made of a hollowed gold coin.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson