First introduced and described as an “arm watch” in the late 16th century, wrist watches used to be only worn exclusively by women. Luckily there are now many different types of watch bands suited for both men and women.
First worn by men in the late 19th century by soldiers to facilitate synchronizing war maneuvers, the wrist sport and dress watch for men as we know it was first introduced as the ‘Watch Wristlet’ in 1893. The campaign watch eventually evolved to include casual watches and was increasingly worn by the public, introduced to the item by returning soldiers.
Casual watches for men when first introduced to the public in the early 20th century typically included a canvas watch band and unbreakable glass. Since then, many different types of watch bands are now available to suit the needs of various tastes and styles. Different types of watch bands styles include various colors and material, such as leather, steel and fabric.
Different types of watch bands also serve different purposes, with certain features for certain occasions. For example, many sports watch bands include ventilation holes for obvious reasons, where as more dressy watches are the ones that feature leather bands. Moreover, sport watches feature a more water resistant rubber or plastic band for protection from the elements.
Still worn by an estimated 62% of American consumers, watches have evolved to include a variety convenient comforts and features. For example, they were refined to offer an automatic option with a self winding mechanism in the early 1920s. One thing, however, never changed; it never stopped providing a convenient way of telling time.
