Learn About Diamond Watches - Sell Diamonds and More

Mechanical clocks came into being about 700 years ago. As early as 1572 references have been found to watch bracelets. That is the year that the Earl of Leicester gave Queen Elizabeth I of England a round watch inlaid with diamonds that hung from a wristband. It became common for female members of European royalty to wear small timepieces as a part of their diamond bracelets. Despite the evidence of the gift to Queen Elizabeth I, Patek Phillipe et Cie, a 19th century jeweler, has been credited with creating the first ladies’ diamond watch. His creation was for the Hungarian Countess Kosewitz in 1868. Until the beginning of the 20th century, men wore pocket watches. A wrist watch wasn’t considered manly. The advent of aviation led to a need for men to quickly see the time without removing their hands from the plane’s controls. It was activities of this nature, where it was vital to know the time quickly, that made pocket watches impractical. In 1904, French-Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Dumont-Santos asked French watchmaker Louis Cartier to create a wrist watch for him. The style quickly became popular among men. During World War I, the style gained acceptance as men found wrist watches more convenient than pocket watches on the battlefield.

Today several watch manufacturers are known for their use of diamonds in their designs—Cartier, Citizens, Harry Winston, Movado and Rolex, among others. A unique tradition in Spain, involves women giving their fiancées a diamond watch to celebrate their engagement.

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