[0:00]We all love watches, don't we? Their sleek sheen. Oh, so stylish. Reminds me of that time I auditioned for 007.
[0:23]And they're pretty useful, too, what with keeping time and all that. But who exactly do we have to thank for this horological blessing? And who actually wore the first watch? Well, our dear ancestors have tried to keep track of time since, well, time immemorial. You see what I did there? By observing the positions of the sun and the moon, the ancients could predict the seasons and the solstices. In fact, some historians theorize that structures like stone hinge were built for exactly such a purpose. It was the ancient Egyptians who were first to crack more precise time keeping methods, first in the form of sun dial, where the sun's shadow would tell you what time of day it was. And later through water clocks, where the flow of liquid in or out of a container was a pretty accurate way to tell time. Now, depending on how you define what a watch is, the first person to wear one could have been an ancient Egyptian. We have some evidence of portable sun dials, though it's debatable how pleasant it would have been to carry one around on your wrist. The next big chronometric innovation, the hourglass, only shows up towards the end of the Middle Ages, which might seem surprising. After all, it uses pretty much the same fluid mechanics as the water clocks of old. Yet, the earliest concrete evidence we have of hourglasses is only from 1338 in this beautiful fresco from the Italian Maritime Republic of Siena. Of course, it's quite possible that there were earlier hourglasses, but we just don't know. We also don't know whether there were portable wrist worn hourglasses. I mean, maybe some lavish 14th century merchant flaunted his hourglass watch to his envious colleagues from Venice. Who knows? What we do know is that our dear friends over at HolzKern make the most remarkable watches and jewelry. Encased in wood, stone and pearl, Holzkern produce elegant and impeccable designs, perfectly suited for a such as yourself. Oh, stop it, you tiger. Or as a gift to your most cherished loved ones. Thanks to their signature graining and mobling technique, every Holzkern product is truly unique. And it can be shipped from their secret hideout in Vienna to anywhere in North America and Europe free of charge. And here's the best part. As a special courtesy to Sidequest viewers, you can get 15% off your order within the next two weeks. If you visit the link in the description and use the promo code sidequest 15. Holy wristwatch, Batman, is that the time? Batman, schedule program. But anyway, it was us Europeans that took the next bigological step forward by inventing the mechanical clock. Sometimes during the early Renaissance. Now, well may you ask, what makes a mechanical clock? is a mechanism known as an escapement. It's what makes a clock tick by periodically stopping and releasing its gears. This beautiful and simple example is from a bit later on in our dear Great Britain, of course. While earlier escapements look more like this, just a tad a bit more complicated. The earliest escapements that we know of dates back to 1235 from the sketchbook of a French architect. Though, funnily enough, it was not used for a clock, but rather to move the statue of an angel. So that its finger is always pointing towards the sun. It wasn't long before the technology was applied to clocks. A bunch of references to mechanical clocks start popping up around the same time in church manifests throughout England, and the rest of Europe towards the end of the 13th century. But these clocks were veritably gargantuan, since they all relied on hanging weights for their power source. And there was certainly not something you could strap onto your wrist. Indeed, it would take more than a century for the crucial break through to arrive. The main spring. We have the late 14th century locksmith to thank for that invention. Clock makers, you see, they just shamelessly lifted it. But nevertheless, by replacing the hanging weights with a coil spring, clocks could finally be made small enough to be portable. This is evidently the earliest clock in history to be worn on the body. AKA the first watch, made in 1505 in Nuremberg in the Holy Roman Empire, AKA Deutschland, Germany. It wasn't particularly accurate. It drifted off by a couple of minutes per hour, with the drift getting worse as the spring unwound. But beyond having to wind it every day, it was pretty neat. Unfortunately, we don't know who actually purchased and wore this marvelous specimen. Although, it was most likely not Caesar, but a noble or clergyman in Nuremberg. And while getting such a watch yourself will be a very pricey endeavor, our good friends over at HolzKern have got you covered, my friend, for all of your stylish wooden framed watch needs. Especially with their new automatic watches that don't use a battery, but instead charge themselves by your wrist's movement. Oh, marvelous. They are truly stellar, so please go check Holzkern out. The link is in the description below. Also, a big shout out of course, to our benevolent benefactors over at Patreon. Only the warmest of wishes to you all. And thank you again for your continued support on our journey of Sidequest. Thank you for watching and stay tuned for the next exquisitely precise episode of Sidequest. You know, a friend of mine bought me a watch that has unfortunately stopped working, but I haven't told them yet. It's never the right time.
