WhoKnew ? T E N F U N Q A N D A ’ S A B O U T W A T C H E S
Which watch brand have Presidents throughout the years been seen wearing most often? Rolex. The Day-Date has been nicknamed “the President” ever since Dwight Eisenhower wore one in the 1950s. Many Presidents since have followed, creating somewhat of a tradition. What world-changing event brought wristwatches into mainstream use? World War I. A few wristwatches had been worn in earlier wars, but it was World War I that exposed large numbers in the military to the convenience of no-hands time-telling in combat. When the men returned home, they brought their new wristwatch habits with them, and the fashion spread quickly. Who was the first man to wear a watch on the moon? Buzz Aldrin. Although Neil Armstrong was, of course, the first man to walk on the moon, he left his watch, an Omega Speedmaster issued to him by NASA, in the lunar module when he made his famous first step. When, about 20 minutes later, Aldrin took his turn on the surface, his Speedmaster became the first watch worn on the moon. What wristwatches have fetched the highest prices at auction? The highest price paid for a watch at auction, to date, was the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A, which sold in 2019 for an astounding $31 million. Another high- value historical sale was the 1968 steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 6239, once owned by Paul Newman. It brought $17.8 million, including buyer’s premium, at a New York auction in 2017. The Rolex was what has come to be called a Paul Newman model because of its association with the actor. What watch did Charles Lindbergh design? The Longines Hour Angle. He designed it as an aid for pilots navigating by celestial observation. It was introduced in 1931.
How did TAG Heuer’s Carrera model get its name? The watch, introduced in 1964, was named after an extremely dangerous auto race that ran 3,100 kilometers from one end of Mexico to the other. The race was run five times, from 1950 through 1954, but was discontinued, because it was so treacherous. It was resurrected in 1988.
Which watch company was the first official timer of the Olympic Games?
Heuer, predecessor of today’s TAG Heuer. debuted as the official timer at the summer games in Antwerp, Belgium. Heuer, which specialized in chronographs, also timed the Olympics in 1924 and in 1928.
? 3 3 • F I N K ’ S J E W E L E R S Cartier’s most famous watch style is known as the Tank.Why? Because of its resemblance, when viewed from the side, to the treads of a military tank. When the watch design was introduced, in 1919, the military tank was a new and much ballyhooed invention, first used in battle in 1916. What now-famous watch did Elvis Presley wear in the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii ? A Hamilton Ventura. He wears a black-dial version of the watch in several scenes. The finned and futuristic Ventura, designed by Richard Arbib and introduced in 1957, was the most avant-garde version of the Hamilton Electric. The Breitling brand has long been known for its associations with pilots and flying. When did they start? In 1939. That year, the company signed a contract to make chronographs for Britain’s Royal Air Force. After that, aircraft manufacturers and others in the aeronautics world signed deals with Breitling. Excerpted from The Watch Buff’s Book of Trivia by Norma Buchanan.
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