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Wristwatch with e-ink display — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wrist-watch

Wristwatch with e-ink display

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Sony (Made by)
Date
2017 (launched)
Country of origin
Japan
Place
Japan
Object type
Wrist-watch
Materials / technique
stainless steel, glass, silicone, polyurethane elastomer
Dimensions
Diameter: 43 millimetres (watch case) Height: 101 millimetres (outer box) Width: 101 millimetres (outer box) Depth: 103 millimetres (outer box)
Holding institution
British Museum
Accession / object no.
2022,8001.1
Credit line
British Museum, London
Catalogue title (original)
Wristwatch with e-ink display (English)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by British Museum (object number 2022,8001.1), this is a wrist-watch by Sony, made in Japan, dated 2017 (launched). The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel, glass, silicone, polyurethane elastomer. Recorded dimensions: Diameter: 43 millimetres (watch case) Height: 101 millimetres (outer box) Width: 101 millimetres (outer box) Depth: 103 millimetres (outer box). 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

Wristwatch with e-ink display Wristwatch with circular brushed stainless steel case and customisable e-paper display dial Plastic strap with customisable e-paper display Black plastic wireless charging stand with USB lead. Black cardboard outer box and instruction leaflet.

Inscriptions & marks

inscription; watch case back; English; FES WATCH U; FASHION ENTERTAINMENTS; MADE IN JAPAN; STAINLESS STEEL; 1006588; FES-WA1

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 timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

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.

Read next:Detached lever escapementIdentification Centre

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