Today it is common to wear a watch on one’s wrist, but it was a different story around 100 years ago. World War I, which started in 1914 and ended in 1918, brought to the battlefield much that was new ? airplanes, mustard gas, military tanks. It also brought something new to civilian society: wristwatches, which had become military-issue equipment, supplanted pocketwatches in popularity. Soldiers returning home from the war brought their wristwatch-wearing habit with them, thus beginning the interesting history of the wristwatch, an invention that has become an integral part of our modern life. In this article, you’ll discover 10 milestone moments from the first 100 years of the wristwatch’s history. It is an excerpt of the article “A Wristwatch Timeline” which you can download in the WatchTime Shop. 1st Milestone in the History of the Wristwatch:

Breitling Chronograph
Breitling: Chronograph, 1915
1915: Breitling launches one of the first wrist-worn chronographs. It features something new: a push-piece at 2 o?clock, separate from the winding crown, rather than integrated into it as on the pocketwatch chronographs of the time.
2nd Milestone in the History of the Wristwatch:

Cartier Tank
Cartier: Tank, 1919
1919: Cartier introduces the Tank watch. The company says that the shape of the case sides was inspired by the treads on military tanks, which were first used in WWI.
3rd Milestone in the History of the Wristwatch:

LeCoultre & Cie. and ...