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
In the early 1900s, Gaston Breitling invented the first chronograph wristwatch. This became the ideal watch for aviators to calculate distance and landing times. With the absence of electronic instruments in the plane dashboard, the only instrument a pilot could rely on was his Breitling watch. Which watch company was the first to have a celebrity endorsement? Bulova became the first watch brand to advertise over the radio. The company recruited Charles Lindbergh to be the first celebrity endorsement of a watch brand. By the end of the 1920s, the company was one of three leading the charge for the creation and sale of clock radios.
Which watch brand have American 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. About 20 minutes later, when 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 an astounding $31 million for a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A in 2019. 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. This Rolex has come to be called the Paul Newman model, because of its association with the actor. What watch brand has partnered with the Olympic games since 1932? In 1932 Omega entered one of its most vital timekeeping partnerships when they earned the title of official timekeeper for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The partnership continues to this day — 20 straight Olympic Games.
| PAGE 49 | ? What famous brand earned the first Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision? German-born Hans Wilsdorf dreamed up and secured the Rolex brand in 1908. He understood the appeal of precision timekeeping. Just two years later, Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision. This award resonated with his British customers who understood that accurate timekeeping — the solution to the long-standing problem of navigating longitude — had empowered the British Empire to dominate the seas in both combat and commerce. 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.
How did Breitling change aviation history?
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