A very Merry Christmas to you all from First Class Watches!
That’s right, Christmas day is finally here and we hope you got all the presents you wanted – whatever they may be. You may be reading this at the end of a very exhausting Christmas day or before you go out for New Year Day – either way we’re glad you’re joining us.
So, if Christmas cracker jokes aren’t quite your thing then read on, because this just might be. Check out this Christmas Day wristwatch trivia and see how many of these pieces of trivia you already know.
Wristwatch Trivia #1: Who Made The World’s First Wristwatch?
The world’s first wristwatch was made by the founders of Patek Philippe. Antoine de Pradwdzic – who had to flee Russia after attempting a revolt against the Russian Czar Nicholas I – started making watches and gave himself the name “Patek”. He teamed up initially with a Polish man named Czapek, but they did not work very well together and he was ousted by Adrien Philippe.
And, admittedly Patek Philippe rolls of the tongue much easier than Patek Czapek!
The two men built up a great reputation and developed some of the best watches in the world at that time. Their reputation had spread so far that they even received an order from Queen Victoria. In 1868 they modified a design of a tiny pocket watch they had previously created to develop the world’s first ever wristwatch for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary.
Wristwatch Trivia #2: What Was The First Watch to go into Space?
Many people will look towards the OMEGA series of watches for the answer to this question – but they would be wrong! It is true that the most famous watches to go into space are certainly the OMEGA Speedmaster watches used on the Apollo missions. Most of these watches are still held by the astronauts who took them into space. But unfortunately the most famous space watch – the one which adorned Neil Armstrong’s wrist on the first moon walk – was lost in transit after he returned to earth.
Another very famous space watch was Dave Scott’s Bulova chronograph. This was his own personal wrist watch but had to be used on the Apollo 15 mission after the strap on his OMEGA watch broke. The watch went up for auction last year and sold for an amazing $1.3 million. It is the only space watch to sell at auction as official moon watches supplied by NASA cannot be sold as they remain government property.
But the first space watch did not adorn the wrist of an American astronaut but a Soviet cosmonaut! The first wristwatch to leave the earth’s atmosphere was on the wrist of Yuri Gagarin when he became the first man to orbit the earth on the 12th of April 1961. Unfortunately it is difficult to ascertain exactly which watch he wore on this trip – it is thought to be the Sturmanskie watch which was issued to Gagarin after he graduated Chkalove Air Force Pilot School. However it is impossible to say with any certainty if this is correct, especially as Yuri Gagarin passed away in 1968.
Thankfully we can give an accurate answer to the question of the first watch to venture into open space. This watch was worn by cosmonaut Alexey Leonov who took the first ever space walk on the 18th of March 1965. He wore a white-faced стрела (Russian for Arrow) watch, which was issued to Soviet cosmonauts from the 1950’s until 1979 when it was withdrawn.
Wristwatch Trivia #3: In Which Movie Did James Bond First Wear a Seiko?
James Bond is as famous for the kind of technology he uses on his missions as he is for his style – so he makes for fantastic wristwatch trivia. When it comes to his wristwatches, there is no doubt that he has always opted for the perfect blend of stylish tech! He has worn Rolex, OMEGA and TAG Heuer – as well as Seiko watches.
In the original James Bond novels, Ian Fleming gave Mr Bond a “heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an expanding bracelet.” Despite the fact that Rolex has a watch called an Oyster Perpetual in its lineup, this is not the watch which has carried over into the movies. In Dr No (1962) we see James Bond’s watch for the first time – a Rolex Submariner (reference 6538) – which Bond wore throughout the rest of Sean Connery’s run. The watch has become so intrinsically linked to James Bond that collectors call the reference 6538 and similar Rolex Submariners “James Bond Submariners”.
The first movie in which James Bond wears a Seiko is The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) where Bond wore a Seiko 0674 alongside a Rolex GMT Master. The watch functioned as a pager, which a label-making printer inside the watch bearing important messages from M! James Bond continued to wear Seiko watches throughout the 70’s and 80’s until 1987 when they were replaced with TAG Hauer.
Today’s Bond wears beautiful devices from OMEGA’s wide range of watches and has done so since Goldeneye (1995). While Bond and OMEGA seem like a perfect match, there is a very good chance that he may change to a different watch brand soon enough!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this Christmas Day wristwatch trivia and I hope that you have a fantastic holiday season!
