Erik Slaven

Following up on our recent ABCs of Time article on the history of watch bracelets, we turn our attention to clasps, which are much more than simple closures today. In fact, some of the best are R&D marvels with intense engineering, CNC machining, extensive hand finishing and dozens of parts requiring extremely tight tolerances. The very first metal bracelets for women’s watches in the 18th and 19th centuries didn’t have closures at all and simply slipped over the wrist like traditional jewellery.

With few exceptions, metal bracelets are a 20th-century phenomenon, really surfacing in the 1920s as wristwatches became a cultural and fashion phenomenon. Three names are generally recognised as part of the rise of contemporary bracelets – Rolex, Gérald Genta and Gay Frères – although there’s much more to the story, and the latter arguably plays the biggest role.

The seconds hand was a bit late to the party, as original pocket watches only featured an hour hand – movements were so inaccurate early on that even minute hands weren’t considered. Two key inventions changed the game in the mid-17th century, with one genius behind them. In 1656, Dutch scientist and horologist Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum for clocks that dramatically improved accuracy from a half hour or more per day to just seconds.