 |
Omega Seamaster Professional Auto Winding Watch US $700.00 (11 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 11:57:42 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
212.30.41.61.01.001 Omega SEAMASTER MENS 300M Quartz Watch Black Dial 41mm Date US $2,390.00 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:07:53 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
NICE MENS OMEGA SEAMASTER AUTOMATIC WRIST WATCH US $334.94 (14 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:20:16 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
20MM LEATHER STRAP FOR OMEGA SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN BRN #16 US $34.95 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:39:29 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
18MM LEATHER STRAP FOR OMEGA SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN BRN #16 US $34.95 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:40:25 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
22MM LEATHER STRAP FOR OMEGA SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN BRN #16 US $34.95 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:41:42 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
Vintage Omega Seamaster Blue Dial Date Watch US $299.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:44:12 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
2918.50.82.NEW Omega SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN CHRONOGRAPH MEN'S Watch Black Dial US $6,790.00 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:49:47 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
Omega Automatic Seamaster Watch Wristwatch Vintage US $239.49 (16 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 12:57:53 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
OMEGA SEAMASTER QUARTZ 1342,EGED DIAL,SS,DATE/FIX,PARTS US $53.00 (16 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 13:03:44 PST | Watch this Item |
Humans have always been fascinated with time. The current system of telling time dates to before 2000 BC in ancient Sumerian. The base 60 numerical system is called “Sexagesimal” and is still used for measuring time, angles and geo coordinates.
The earliest clocks relied on shadows cast by the sun and required recalibration as the seasons changed.
In the 8th century, Arabic engineers invented the water clock driven by gears and weights.
Spring powered clocks and watches as we know them today appeared in the 16th century, followed by the pendulum clock in the 18th century.
Until the 18th century, clocks and pocket watches were considered a status symbol for the rich and famous.
In the 19th century, the Swiss “gained worldwide supremacy in high-quality machine-made watches”. The leading firms of that day were Patek Philippe, founded by Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe.
In 1904, an aviator named Alberto Santos-Dumont, asked his friend, Louis Cartier, a French watchmaker to design a wristwatch that could be used during his flights. Louis Cartier designed and created the Santos wristwatch, the first man’s wristwatch and the first designed for practical use as an aviation device.
Soon, the design of wrist “clocks” began to move away from the traditional round face. The Cartier traditional wrist watch made way for new designs characterized by their non-traditional shapes. A “Polyplan” shaped watch was designed by Movadoto be followed closely by the rectangular shaped Patek Philippe watch with the cryptic name: “clock reference n. 1593″.
A large diversity of designs and shapes were released by other watch powerhouses Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. These new designs included features such as lunar phases, month, day and day of the week.
Rolex announced itself to the world in the 1920’s with the release of the Rolex Prince and it’s revolutionary feature of “dual time”. This feature was famous for having the “seconds sector” larger than the minutes.
Jaeger Le Coultre created a significantly advanced piece dubbed “Reverse”. This watch had a unique feature that allowed the crystal and dial to turn 180 degrees in it’s case. This unique design was instantly popular but never achieved a widespread status because of the recession in the 30’s and the beginning of World War II.
Lange & Söhnewas founded in 1845 and specialized in making extraordinary pocket watches as well as marine chronometers and navigation watches for pilots. The factory survived the Second World War until May 8, 1945, the day the articles of surrender were signed in Berlin. That morning Russian dive-bombers destroyed the building. Walter Lange was forced to flee to West Germany when the East Germans took over Lange. He settled in Pforzheim where he found work, thrived and waited.
With German reunification in 1990, Lange found financial backing from Günther Blümlein, then head of Jaeger LeCoultreand IWC, and returned to Glashütte to buy the original headquarters.
Precision made, high value watches by Rolex, Breitling, Cartier, Movado, Jaeger Le Coultre have become prized collectibles among the rich and famous.
