Until around the year 1900 watches were carried in the pockets of vests or pants, and were tied
to the end. of a chain. Both the chain and the pocket were called the watch ‘fob’.
According to a popular story, a swiss watch maker saw a woman sittingin a park with a watch tied around her wrist, so that she could hold her child with both her hands free. He made a wristwatch in 1790, but no one really took notice of the great discovery and until about a century later the idea remained unused.
In 1914 a wristwatch was shown at an exhibition in Switzerland and people thought that it was “just a passing fancy”. Today, the same passing fancy” is the number one jewellery item in the world. Even an ordinary person can afford a wristwatch. About 80 million watches are made around the world each year!