Quick guide: Date the watch

Text: Therese Kihlander

Do you wish you could quickly form an idea of which decade that cool watch on the wrist of the person next to you at the table is from? Or which year the charming watch in the bargain box at the farm auction might be from? Then we are going to help you now. There are namely simple details to pay attention to on a watch that can help you arrive at which decade it was made. With the help of quick and brief style history about trends and fashion we shall now account for which those details are that you should look at when you want to date a watch. 

The beginning of the 1900s and the entrance of the wristwatch

First out we can establish that the ”timeline” has its start at the beginning of the 1900s. Trends and fashion generally often mirror events in history, and when it comes to the watch industry it is no exception. In connection with the First World War wristwatches became a thing since it was more practical than pocket watches. To begin with you could find for example pocket watches that with various creative solutions had been placed on the wrist.

During the 1920s the industry then really took off and wristwatches started to be made and designed to sit precisely on the wrist and nothing else. The watches' design was marked by what was happening in society and a typical design language grew forth. The Cartier Tank Normale is a good example when it comes to design and look during the 1920s. The design is, not entirely unexpectedly, inspired by the look of a tank and follows the design style Art Decó.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from the early 1920s up to and including the 1930s you should look at these details:

• The shape of the case was often square, rectangular or tonneau-shaped.
• These watches often have specific markings and enclosed minute markings which can be compared to a ladder in appearance.
• The indexes often have a specific expression, are square like the case, round or Roman numerals, but most often have a clean and stripped-down typeface without frills.
• Watches from roughly 1920 to the 1930s often belong to the design style Art Decó, which is characterised by stripped-down and strict lines and geometric shapes.

The 1940s and The Dirty Dozen

During the 1940s the design was then set for how a proper military watch should look and what it should be able to do. The advance of the Second World War affected the look and above all led to a focus on the watches being practical. Typical watches appearance-wise for this time are The Dirty Dozen, which were the 12 watches that the British defence purchased on this occasion.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from this time you should look for these details:

• Taking as a starting point that the watches during this time became more practical, watches with luminous material on hands and indexes grew forth.
• Indexes swelled a little and big hands became a thing, that too from the perspective that it should now become easier to be able to establish the time in challenging situations.
• During this time the cases were clean in design, did not contain as much material and also often in white metal. The reason? Well, that the steel industry rather needed to supply the outside world with war materiel. 
• Often watches from this decade have dials in neutral colours, such as black, white or in silver. More experimental dials had not yet seen the light of day.

The 1950s and The Tool Watch

During the 1950s it was then time for The Tool Watch to see make its entrance on the market. And what is meant by this then? Well that wristwatches now started to get further tasks than only to show the time. We are talking about diver's watches, pilot's watches, racing watches etc. That is to say purpose watches. The starting shot for these types of watches was the Rolex Submariner, and another example of a typical watch for this time is the Omega Speedmaster from 1957.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from this time you should look for these details:

• The cases got more rounded shapes during this time, likewise the design language overall became softer.
• Sword hands became a hot trend during the 1950s.

The straight lines of the 1960s

During this time the watches became, in line with the swing within interior design and clothing fashion, marked by straight lines. A cleaner expression and a neatness characterise the watches from this decade. Soft shapes were not as relevant as before, above all the lugs became somewhat more angular and no longer had the same soft shapes. An example from this time is the IWC 803 A.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from this time you should look for these details:

• The hands became considerably straighter than before during this time.
• More angular lines and shapes marked the design during the 1960s.
• Like the 1960s' fashion and design in general, with waists that were to be erased on the women's garments and Danish interior design that was marked by straight and modern lines, the watches from this time also breathe this design language.

The 1970s and the quartz crisis

During the 1970s it was then time for a bit of real new thinking. Wildly flipped-out cases, new design expressions, block-like cases and indexes, as well as square and further block-like hands also saw the light of day during this time. The 1970s' watches overall have details that all make the most of themselves in a different way on the dial, and new and lively colours become a trend. Orange above all becomes a common accent colour. One example is the Certina DS-3 PH 200.

On top of this the 1970s is also marked by the so-called quartz crisis. Battery-driven watches became hot news during this time and the value of mechanical watches faded considerably, which led to the interest in the watches dropping and to above all the Swiss watch industry being brought to its knees.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from this time you should look for these details:

• An odd, bulging and eye-catching case with more material can be a sure sign that you are dealing with a 1970s watch.
• Many details and expressions on the dial? Yes then it may very well be a watch from this time.
• Standout colour details, or perhaps even orange accent colours? Yes then it is with fairly great certainty a watch that is either designed or made in the 1970s, or that has taken its inspiration from that time.
• Block-like expression on the case, indexes or hands can be a good indication that the watch belongs to this decade.
• During this time integrated links became a new and gorgeous detail on the market.

The 1980s and onwards

After the so-called quartz crisis you could for a long time make real finds on the market when it came to mechanical watches, but what is worth remembering then is that this was not particularly hot or trendy. Towards the year 1980–1990 the newly made watches that were produced many times got a more childish expression, and manufacturers rather went in for being inspired by what had previously been done and only ”hotting up” the whole thing.

During the 1980s and 90s there was a lot of focus on thin mechanical watches in a smaller size. During the 1990s two tone – i.e. gold and steel – was also among the hottest things you could wear. The Breitling Chronomat with UTC display was one of the hottest watches on the market.

Towards the year 2000 really big watches then came and the feeling became that the motto was now to take what had already been done and make it bigger. Hublot's Big Bang was launched in 2005 and for a relatively long period watches around 44-46 mm dominated the market.

If we go as far as to the later 2010s things then start to happen on the market and for the watch industry again. Vintage becomes hot and the second-hand market runs away within the industry. Here the trend grows forth to take design expressions from the 1950s and 1960s in order to newly manufacture, such as for example the Tudor Black Bay 58. Specific references are also made in a new incarnation. Generally new watches from this time, and the time era we now find ourselves in, breathe of manufacturers wanting to pay tribute to old favourites in a new incarnation but with new technology as well as new materials.

If you want to be able to establish whether a watch is from any of these decades you can look for these details:

• When it comes to the 1990s the wathces got a more childish expression, which can be a hint.
• A really big and fat watch often has its home in the 2000s.
• Generally speeking it can be somewhat tricky to see whether a watch is a tribute to a 1950s or 1960s watch that was made in the 2010s, or whether it actually is from this time. Today many manufacturers are inspired by for example the colouring of the indexes from watches that have been around since the early 1960s. Something you can look at though is whether the watch has other signs of age such as for example bubbles in the lacquer, tarnished hands, cracked luminous material etc.