The weekend is here, and hopefully you’re still with us. It was a long weekend and we as a species deserve a well-timed break. September’s wrapping up on us here real quick-like, and so is something we started looking into about a week ago… And that is, the timeline of watch history!!! Looking back in the archive you’ll see parts 1-4 and here today is part 5 which will be the final part until some more crazy advances are made in the realm of watchmaking. We pick right back up in the…

Year: 1979- The Delirium is introduced as the thinnest watch in the world, measuring 1.98 mm. If you’ve never seen this shining example of innovation do yourself a favor and click open a new tab and take a gander at it. Impressive, indeed.

Year: 1983 – Watch collecting can be an expensive hobby… But even us regular folk can afford something that can at least pass as fashionable. In 1983, Swatch introduced the world to the first plastic Swiss quartz watch, marketing their creation as a wholly affordable fashion statement for your wrist.

Year: 1989 – The most complex watch in the world is born. That’s right, 33 complications are stuck on one timepiece by Patek Phillipe. The watch is known as the Calibre 89.

Year: 1996 – A ship (named the Mata-Rangi) and her crew are on an expedition off of the coast of Chile when their reed raft goes to bits on them in the throes of some awful maelstrom. Sounds tragic, BUT! Thanks to a Breitling Emergency watch the crew manages to signal for help. How? The watch is actually equipped with a transmitter that broadcasts a distress signal to any would-be rescuers.

Year: 1997 – For the first time, the Guinness World Records announces that the Tourneau Time Machine on 57th street at Madison Avenue in NYC is THE largest watch store in the world. It won’t last for too long, though…

Year: 1999 – Titanium, carbon fiber and other space-age materials become commonplace in the world of watch building. TAG Heuer in particular releases the world’s very first watch grafted in grade 5 titanium, the Kirium T15.

Year: 2000 – Into the millennium we go, and the materials used by the watchmaking titans worldwide get even more advanced. Ulysse Nardin and Patek Phillipe begin using such high-tech materials in their creations as silicon and ceramic.

Year: 2005 – The Tourneau Time Machine had a good run as the world’s largest watch store, but the company behind it decides to trump their previous record with the opening of a new store in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new Tourneau Time Dome takes over as the world’s new largest watch store…

There you have it. A few hundred years worth of bullet points noting some of the biggest moments in the history of our collective passion. Check back for a new article tomorrow and as always, like us on Facebook at (link) and be sure to browse our online shop at DaLuca Straps for all of your latest watchstrap needs.