BORN TO SERVE

The interaction in design between military watches and their civilian siblings

- Martin Green

One of the most demanding environments for a watch is on the wrist of a policeman, firefighter, or soldier. Here, it becomes a tool for survival that needs to be both robust and precise, with excellent legibility while not limiting the motions of the wrist. To achieve this, a synergy between form and function is a must. This gives these battletested timepieces a functionality and purity in design that is so much appreciated in civilian life that they have greatly influenced the design of wristwatches in general.

When World War I broke out, wristwatches were not at all in fashion. Most men carried pocketwatches in the vests of their suits, and it was women who were the early adopters of wearing their timepieces on the wrist. The battlefield was vast and advances in technology had made it so that timing was not only of importance for generals and officers, but for individual soldiers as well. Caught in the trenches, attacks needed to be coordinated, artillery barrages timed, and all sorts of (tele) communication to be conducted, not to forget firing rifles and machine guns at the enemy to maintain position. They soon discovered that they needed both hands to do that and that taking out a pocketwatch was a burden. Soldered lugs, made from wire, were the initial solution, with a piece of fabric going through them to secure the watch on the wrist. This was a quick fix, but marked an important moment in watchmaking. While inevitably, the wristwatch would have taken over from the pocketwatch, World War I sped up the process, as many soldiers returning from battle kept wearing their watches on their wrists. It also underscored, for the first time in history, the specific need for timepieces that were adapted to battle conditions.

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