What Time Is It

In this episode – What Time Is It . . .

In the era before smartphones, let’s say we’re on a telephone call, and you ask me, “What time is it?” As a five-year-old, my reply is, "The big hand is on the two (2) and the little hand on the eight (8).”

You would then say, "Alright, it's ten minutes after eight o’clock or eight-ten, right?" This is how we learned to tell time as children–remember? Well, what happened . . .

During dinner last week in Westfield, NJ, a retired high school teacher told our group, “Did you know that children today cannot read the time on a traditional watch with an analog face?”

“Why not?” we asked.

“Because of smartphones and the proliferation of digital clocks.”

“Wow! That’s hard to believe.”

Welcome to this week's episode of "On the Fly." Today, we'll compare classic mechanical watches to modern quartz watches and explore an unexpected social shift.

To begin with, let me take you back a few days. I’m a traditionalist and prefer wearing a watch rather than relying on my smartphone for the time. While preparing for our vacation, I selected a quartz watch from the drawer. However, frustratingly, I found that the battery had died. We had no choice but to opt for a mechanical watch instead of trying to get the battery replaced. Yes, I’ll admit it: I was obsessed with clocks' precision in my younger days. Since then, my attitude toward the mechanical watch has taken a 180-degree turn. Here’s why.

In the 1980s, while working at Slavick's Jewelers, I witnessed quartz watches become the watch market's dominant seller. Of course, mechanical watches never disappeared; they found a niche as a status symbol—we were an authorized Rolex dealer. Our challenge was explaining the difference in accuracy after patrons spent thousands on a mechanical watch that lost maybe one minute over a few months. Seiko, Timex, and Pulsar customers were furious.

For centuries, the mechanical watch reigned supreme. The first true wristwatch, as we know it today, is credited to Abraham-Louis Breguet, a Swiss watchmaker, around 1810. He created it for Queen Caroline Murat of Naples. These carefully crafted timepieces relied on intricate springs and gears to keep time.

In contrast, the first quartz wristwatch, the Seiko Astron, available for commercial purchase, was introduced in 1969. Subsequently, in 1972, Hamilton Watch Company launched the Pulsar watch, the world's first digital watch. This revolutionary timepiece used light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display the time in bright red digits. Hamilton worked alongside Electro/Data Inc. to bring the Pulsar watch to life. The official launch and marketing of the Pulsar watch took place in the spring of 1972.

Quartz watches revolutionized the watch industry. They were incredibly precise, didn't require frequent winding, and were more affordable. As a result, people could afford to own multiple watches that kept perfect time and choose a watch that matched their style, a significant departure from the intricate mechanics and expense of traditional watches.

However, this innovation sparked the “Quartz Crisis” in the '70s and '80s, which rocked the watchmaking world, particularly in Switzerland, known for its handcrafted mechanical watches. Suddenly, those beautiful, handcrafted timepieces seemed outdated beside the affordable, ultra-precise quartz watches. The industry had to adapt, and many Swiss brands started producing quartz.

But the story doesn't end there. While quartz became the king of everyday watches, mechanical watches didn't disappear entirely. They found new life as collectibles, and people began appreciating the artistry and heritage behind these intricate mechanisms.

Today, we enjoy the advantage of having both quartz and mechanical watches. Quartz watches are great for everyday use, while mechanical watches are known for their investment value, intricate craftsmanship, and timeless elegance without a battery. Additionally, with the increased popularity of smartwatches, charging your watch instead of having a jeweler replace the battery has become the norm, but that's a different story altogether.

But let’s return to young children and learning to tell time. When you ask a youngster today what time it is, don’t be surprised if their response is, “Hey Google, what time is it?”

Oh well, "the times they are a-Changin' – said Bob Dylan. I wonder if he wears a Rolex.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

(Audio sound effects courtesy of Bill Tingley).