A pocket watch belonging to Abraham Lincoln recently turned up a couple years back with an ancient engraving referencing the American Civil War.
In 1880, German Emperor Wilhelm I visited the Berlin Trade Fair and spotted some prototype wristwatches designed by Constant Girard , he ordered 1000 for the German Imperial Navy wristwatches, and by 1880, 2000 had been produced and delivered. The cage protected the watch face in battle. Although, wristwatches were more handy than the popular pocket watches, they still did not hit the general market until Santos-Dumont ,a Brazilian aviator and popular icon, began wearing one. He approached Louis Cartier to fashion a watch so that he could keep both hands on the aircraft controls during flight. Being the trendsetter of the early 1900's, he popularized the wrist watch. Click here to learn more about Santos-Dumont
During World War I, in the dark trenches, soldiers were not able to see their time pieces, and so luminescence was applied to the dial. Unfortunately, the luminescence used was comprised of highly radioactive Radium. While the lume was highly effective in reading the numbers of the dial in the dark, the young girls who had painted the lume on the dials, died from the results of the exposure.

Click here to read their story - The Deadly Dials and Glowing Girls
Many Watches were designed with protective grills such as the
WWI British Air Force Military Watch depicted here.
Watches on today's market, are fashioned after military vehicles. The Cartier Tank was created by Louis Cartier in 1917, and inspired by the new Renault tanks which Cartier saw in use on the Western Front. The first Cartier Tank was presented to General John Pershing of the American

An entire company "U-Boat" is named after the German submarines from World War I and World War II. U-Boat is short for the German word "Unterseeboot" which literally means "undersea" boat.
Bell and Ross fashion its watches after the dials on a military


Many other brand Name Watch companies have become official suppliers for Army's. Breitling is the official supplier to

Ebel supplied the British Royal Air Force with watches from 1939-1945.
Elgin (former watch company) issued this Canteen Watch to the U.S Navy during world war two. The crown flips off like the top of a canteen. (see inset)
In 1938, Longines crafted “Anti-magnetique” for the Czech Air Force.
Bremont, a British Luxury Watch Brand has taken history to a new dimension. Its EP120 pilot’s

In war, tracking time is a matter of life and death.
Today is Veterans Day. We salute all those who have put their lives on the line, and fought for this country.
Really enjoyed reading this article, especially about Lincoln's hidden message. Really informative!
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