Quartz controlled wristwatch with ball-bearing time indication — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Quartz controlled wristwatch with ball-bearing time indication

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: Eone Timepieces (Made by)
Date: 2014
Historical period: Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
Country of origin: China
Place: China
Object type: Wristwatch
Materials / technique: titanium, stainless steel
Dimensions: Diameter: 39.50 millimetres
Holding institution: British Museum
Accession / object no.: 2014,8037.1
Credit line: British Museum, London
Catalogue title (original): Quartz controlled wristwatch with ball-bearing time indication (English)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by British Museum (object number 2014,8037.1), this is a wristwatch by Eone Timepieces, made in China, dated 2014. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: titanium, stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: Diameter: 39.50 millimetres. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Description — British Museum

Quartz controlled wristwatch with ball-bearing time indication. Case Titanium case with integral dial. Case back retained with 4 screws. Wrist band of stainless steel mesh. Dial Dial Integral with the case with raised markers at each hour, with triangular marker at 12 and elongated markers at 3, 6 and 9. A recessed track on the front contains a ball bearing which indicates minutes and similar around the outer edge indicates hours. The ball bearings are moved by magnets that are fixed to hands behind the dial. The dial can be read by sight or touch. Movement A battery powered quartz movement with standard pull-crown time setting. With box and instruction book.

Curator's comments — British Museum

This watch was conceived and designed for use both by visually impaired and non-visually impaired persons.

Inscriptions & marks

inscription; On rear case cover; English; EONE TIMEPIECES; EONE; SWISS PARTS; TITANIUM CASE; ASSEMBLED IN CHINA; B000241; THE BRADLEY; The "EONE" is in symbolic style script.; inscription; On trhe movement; English; RONDA; ONE 1 JEWEL; SWISS PARTS; inscription; On the band; English; STAINLESS STEEL

Provenance

Donated by:, Kim Hyungsoo

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.

Read the period in the timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Quartz, digital and electronic watches

Electronic watches arrived in three steps. The Hamilton Electric 500 (1957) was the first battery-powered wristwatch, still with a balance; Bulova's Accutron (1960) used a tuning fork. On 25 December 1969 Seiko released the Astron 35SQ, the first quartz wristwatch, closely followed by the Swiss Beta 21 group. In 1972 Hamilton's Pulsar introduced the LED digital watch, and LCD displays soon made digital watches cheap.

The 'Quartz Crisis' that followed devastated the Swiss mechanical industry, which lost two-thirds of its workforce between 1970 and 1984 before recovering with the Swatch (1983) and the luxury mechanical revival. Solar, radio-controlled, kinetic and connected smartwatches continue the electronic line.

What to look for

Battery hatch in the case back and calibre markings with 'Quartz' or a crystal frequency.
Display technology: LED (red, push-button) versus LCD (always-on).
Tuning-fork hum and a smoothly sweeping seconds hand on Accutrons.
Model and reference numbers, often printed on the back.

Dating clues

Electric balance watches: from 1957.
Tuning-fork watches: 1960–c. 1977.
Quartz analogue: from December 1969; LED digital: 1972–c. 1978; LCD from 1973.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

Quartz crystal oscillator — Component

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceRecorded
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: British Museum (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (© The Trustees of the British Museum) — permission review (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Quartz controlled wristwatch with ball-bearing time indication." British Museum, 2014,8037.1. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/quartz-controlled-wristwatch-with-ball-bearing-time-indication-54bc88.