Watch Facts for Kids

A modern watch

A old pocket watch

Swatch watch from Switzerland

A watch is a small clock carried or worn by a person. It makes it easy to see the time. It is also a fashion accessory for men and women, and expensive watches are designed for this purpose. A watch may be one of the few accessories worn by a person.

A wristwatch is designed to be worn on a wrist, attached by a strap or other type of bracelet. A pocket watch is to be carried in a pocket. There are other variations. Nurses often wear a watch attached to the front of their uniform. It hangs down from a short strap: when lifted by the user it is right side up.

A wrist watch has the advantage of being portable in comparison to traditional watches.

Watches evolved in the 17th century from spring-powered clocks, which appeared as early as the 14th century. In 1524, Peter Henlein created the first pocket watch. The first watches were strictly mechanical, driven by clockwork.

As technology developed, mechanical watches were largely replaced by vibrating quartz crystals, producing accurately timed electronic pulses. Some watches use radio technology to correct the time and date. The first digital electronic watch was developed in 1970.

Electronic movements, also known as quartz movements, have few or no moving parts, except a quartz crystal which is made to vibrate by the piezoelectric effect. A varying electric voltage is applied to the crystal, which responds by changing its shape so it works as an oscillator. It resonates at a stable frequency, which paces a timekeeping mechanism. Most quartz movements are primarily electronic but are geared to drive mechanical hands on the face of the watch to give a traditional analog display of the time. Most consumers prefer this.

Some watches are smartwatches, mobile devices similar to smartphones but smaller.

Images for kids

A modern wristwatch featuring solar charging and atomic time reception capabilities
The earliest dated watch known, from 1530
Drawing of one of his first balance springs, attached to a balance wheel, by Christiaan Huygens, published in his letter in the Journal des Sçavants of 25 February 1675. The application of the spiral balance spring (spiral hairspring) for watches ushered in a new era of accuracy for portable timekeepers, similar to that which the endulum had introduced for clocks in 1656.
A watch drawn in Acta Eruditorum, 1737
Early wrist watch by Waltham, worn by soldiers in World War I (German Clock Museum).
A so-called mystery watch, it is the first transparent watch, c. 1890. The movement is fitted with a cylinder escapement.
Automatic watch: An eccentric weight, called a rotor, swings with the movement of the wearer's body and winds the spring
First quartz wristwatch BETA 1 developed by CEH, Switzerland, 1967
Quartz Movement of the Seiko Astron, 1969 (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Inv. 2010-006)
Poljot chronograph
A Casio DBA-800 databank watch with phone dialling capabilities. Circa 1987
An illuminated watch face, using a luminous compound
Views of a liquid crystal display, both with electroluminescent backlight switched on (top) and switched off (bottom)
The Rolex Submariner, an officially certified chronometer
Perpetual calendar and moonphase wristwatch by Patek Philippe
Timex Datalink USB Dress edition from 2003 with a dot matrix display; the Invasion video game is on the screen
The Omega Speedmaster, selected by NASA for use on space missions in the 1960s.
Astronaut Nancy J. Currie wears the Timex Ironman Triathlon Datalink model 78401 during STS 88.
Seiko 7002–7020 Diver's 200 m on a 4-ring NATO style strap
Cortébert digital mechanical pocket watch (1890s)
Cortébert digital mechanical wristwatch (1920s)
A silver Pulsar LED watch from 1976.
A Timex digital watch with an always-on display of the time and date
A Digital LCD watch with electroluminescent backlight.

Watch facts for kids

Images for kids

See also