10 Surprising Luxury Watch Facts

Luxury watches have a long history of a rich and surprising culture surrounding their legacy and reputation in the fashion industry. That’s why luxury watches are highly sought after by watch collectors and enthusiasts on the Gold Coast and across the world.

Along with the rich history, achievements, and engineering feats brought about by luxury watches are remarkable and unusual luxury watch facts.

CBD Jewellers, a leading jewellery shop in Southport brought together ten surprising luxury watch facts. Take your time and read our favorite facts below!

The First Watch was Made of Stone

The first watches ever recorded were with the Sumerians in 2000 BC. Sundials were the first timekeeping mechanism that used a stone obelisk to tell the time by its shadow cast by the sun at a particular angle.

Sumerians would then approximate the time by measuring the shadow’s length and direction.

Women First Wore Wristwatches

Nowadays, almost everyone would bustle around with wristwatches. But when pocket watches were a thing, women wore wrist watches since only men would typically carry a pocket watch.

Pocket Watches were Early Status Symbols

Modern society may deem pocket watches as antique and less accurate than timepieces like Rolex and Omega. But about 200 years ago, pocket watches were popular status symbols, especially for men in the 1900s.

As the luxury item slowly shifted towards wristwatches, mechanical innovations paved the way for groundbreaking luxury watches such as the Rolex Oyster.

Rolex Oyster was the First Water-Resistant Timepiece

Rolex wrote history by releasing the first hermetically sealed watch — the Oyster. They made Mercedes Gleitze, an English swimmer, swim across the English Channel in 1927 while wearing the wristwatch.

After ten hours, Gleitze crossed the channel and walked away with the Oyster in perfect operating condition.

Most Luxury Watches in Ads are Set to 10:10

The next time you find a luxury watch ad online, take a closer look at the time, and you’ll most likely find that the watches have their hands set to 10:10.

That’s because marketing specialists find that having the dials resemble a smiling face produces positive advertising and customer conversion results.

Casio Uses Logical Drop-Tests on G-Shock Watches

It may not make sense if you’re marketing a shock-resistant luxury timepiece that you can’t prove in the best way possible. That’s why Casio stepped away from fancy laboratories and decided to test their G-Shock models by dropping them from a multi-storey building.

Dr. No Producer had to Lend His Rolex to Bond Himself

Rolex watches we’re almost a staple for the entire James Bond franchise. But despite the symbolism of the luxury watch, Rolex refused to give a Submariner watch for the movie Dr. No.

With that, film producer Cubby Broccoli had to lend his Submariner to James Bond actor Sean Connery.

Besides, Rolex watchmakers assemble each expensive model by hand, which typically takes years to acquire. Thus, it makes sense if the company has certain reservations in sending out a masterpiece as a movie prop.

Rolex Survived the Deepest Corners of the Ocean

Most modern and luxury wristwatches can resist water ingress for up to 300 metres. But a luxury watch from Rolex survived the Mariana Trench and operated flawlessly despite being 11,000 metres below sea level and over 1000 times atmospheric pressure.

Luxury Watches have been to the Moon 

The Space Race was yet another platform for luxury timepieces to flex their engineering feats. As the first US astronauts stepped into the Moon, Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew were wearing Omega Speedmasters.

The luxury watch underwent rigorous testing in NASA’s lab before qualifying for the launch, in which it performed exceptionally well.

A Luxury Watch was Sold for $17.8 Million in 2017

Most Rolex luxury watches would sell for around $30,000 to $50,000, but not in the case of a particular Rolex Daytona. The luxury watch was from the famous actor and racer Paul Newman, who virtually influenced the model’s intrinsic value.

In 2017, a telephone bidder at Phillips Auction House bought the holy grail of luxury watches for a total of $17.8 million, marking the history of the most expensive wristwatch.

Summary

Each watch fact discussed above has a surprising and remarkable backstory that adds to the culture and elegance of luxury watches.

Luxury timepieces have something to offer, whether it’s about social marketing, arts, film, or technological breakthroughs. If you want a piece of timeless history, culture, and engineering on your wrists, CBD Jewellers recommend seeking a trusted local jeweller.