I've recently become obsessed with rotating bezels (don't ask!), and was trying to learn everything about them that I could. And: what better place to learn about anything and everything watch-related than here! So I'd appreciate if you could help me scratch my itch, and let me know (or point me to) information about things like:
- who invented it and when?
- what was the first watch that had one?
- how did they evolve over time (materials, technology, etc.)
- distribution (how big is the share of watches that have a rotation bezel)
- pilot vs. diver
- internal vs. external
- etc.
Any tidbit of history or trivia on rotating bezels welcome!
First and second question: thanks to Roger Ruegger - "How the Rotating Bezel Landed on the Dive Watch" - we know that the concept dates back to 1929, when Philip Van Horn Weems applied for a patent for a wristwatch with a more complex external bezel, which was granted in 1935 and soon found its way on to many pilots’ watches, the most important one being the legendary Weems watch from Longines (other brands using the same lockable bezel included Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Movado and Zenith).
Mike, thanks for the info... I was aware of Weems' pioneering work in navigation at that time, but didn't know that he was the one who first got an external bezel patented!
I can answer in part, the how did they evolve question! For a brief period in the mid 1940s they are used to tell the day. The outer rotating bezel below shows the French days of the week. You turn the bezel so that the day(marked with a letter) matches the date. Thereafter as the date pointer hand moves it also shows the day of the week.
Watchbreath, you got me there... that's what I'm doing constantly right now (if the situation allows that I can spare a hand).
As for the cost... I guess bezel-play might still be a "cheap" addiction compared to many others out there (even if you manage to break one).
And: it kinda calms me, and I guess that turning the bezel on my watch is a healthier response than jumping up and going on a rampage when somebody says something stupid in a meeting (which, in my experience, happens constantly). ;-)
So all things considered, I think I'll be a risk-taker here and keep on playing with my bezel. But thanks for the advice nonetheless!
Busa, me too! I use mine all the time, for timing all kinds of things. Do you prefer an internal or external bezel? I've been an external bezel guy until now (those clicks!), but I'm contemplating eventually getting a watch with an internal one too (something along the lines of the Longines Legend Diver).
A interesting bit of bezel trivia: the first Rolex with a rotating bezel was the 1937 3346 Zerographe which also had Rolex first (albeit crude) in-house chronograph movement.
Glycine made an important addition to the evolution of bezels with the 24 hour scale in 1953 ( Patent CH314050 ).
The Airman being a 24 hour watch, the 24h bezel enabled flying personnel track a second time zone without an additional GMT hand.
Now as we all know most GMT watches cross brands use this 24h bezel, an invention which went under the radar.
Rotating inner bezel, the earliest ones I can think of are the triple date watches from early '40s. Powered by Venus calibers mainly, Venus 203-5 family.
A catalog from 1943 has it already but it may be earlier invented.
ilitig8, thanks for that info - didn't know the watch and had to check it out, look cool (with quite a prominent bezel indeed)! Here's a pic (courtesy of monochrome watches):
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