Today is the feast day of St Eligius, the patron of watchmakers. Here are 10 things you might not know about watches:
The word watch originates with the Old English word woecce, meaning “to keep an eye on” and “be awake”. It was used to refer to town watchmen and is also the root of the word watch in connection with watches on board ship. Watchmen and sailors would have found this technology useful in keeping track of their shifts.
The pocket watch was introduced around the 15th century but became popular during the Tudor era in the 16th century. Wristwatches eventually replaced them for the sheer convenience of being able to tell the time without having to reach into your pocket.
Early pocket watches only had one hand, the hour hand. It was only in the 17th century that the minute hand was introduced.
The first wristwatches were designed for women (because as we all know, women’s clothes are notorious for not having pockets!) They were worn as a fashion accessory, a piece of jewellery, rather than to keep track of time. Historical accounts suggest that one of the earliest of these ‘arm watches’ was made for Queen Elizabeth I. However, other sources credit Swiss watch manufacturer Patek Philippe with creating one of the first ‘wristwatches’ for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary around 1868.
Wristwatches gained popularity with men during the first world war as they allowed more freedom of movement for soldiers.
When watches are displayed for sale they will often be set to ten past ten or ten to two. This is a subliminal advertising thing, because watch hands in this position resemble a smiley face, so these times are called happy times. It’s said a customer is unconsciously affected by this and their mood is uplifted, making them more likely to buy a watch.
The Omega Speedmaster was a favourite brand of watch for astronauts going to the Moon. Seven of the men who went to the moon wore them, including the ones who made the first trip.
James Bond, meanwhile, famously sports a Rolex. Despite the obvious good publicity that a character like Bond would bring to the brand, Rolex will never give away any of their watches. If you see one in a film, it will have been paid for by someone. Nor do they give freebies to celebrities. It is said that the producer of the first James Bond movie put his personal Rolex Submariner on Sean Connery's wrist, because Rolex refused to provide a wristwatch for the filming. Staying with films, Rolex was the only watch company willing to be a sponsor for the movie American Psycho. Most companies had turned the gig down because of the negative associations. Rolex agreed, but with one condition: that Christian Bale didn’t wear the watch during the gruesome dismembering body scenes.
For her coronation in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II wore a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre which was the smallest wristwatch of the time. It was integrated into a slim diamond-studded bracelet.
The world’s first water-resistant watch is believed to be the Rolex Oyster, introduced in 1926.
Character birthday
Angelique Reynard, sister of Jean Paul, father of Basil Reynard (Fox). She was unable to have children of her own and hence resented her sister in law, who became pregnant before she married. Angelique appears in From a Jack to a King.
From A Jack To A King
A royal palace is burning. The King and Queen are dead. The only hopes for an ancient dynasty flee to England for their lives.
A boy runs from his mother and the people he believes want to mutilate him, and vanishes, seemingly forever.
Gary Winchcombe, the experimental "super-cop" pursues a notorious gang of bank robbers, and starts to discover that his friends and neighbours have secrets he never could have imagined.
Tod Reynard wants to turn his life around. When he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Jade, he knows she might just be the one to help him change his life for the better. He cannot possibly know just how much.
When Jade's twin sister Gloria is kidnapped, old rivalries must be put aside and new associations formed in order to save Gloria's life and restore the rightful order of things.
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