The earliest mention of the watch was in Shakespeares play As You Like It. In the second act of the play one character produces a sun-dial from his pocket and muses about the time. Though at this time in history a true, portable timekeeping piece would have been too much of a hassle. Coming up with a powers source for the watch was impossible at this time. But in the 1500s Peter Henlein from Germany created the first pocket watch. And from that point on portable timekeeping was part of the norm.
In the early 1600s, form watches came into being. Cases shaped like animals and objects and religious themed watches were the most popular. But cheap, portable clockswatchesdidnt really come into wide spread use until 1780 when Abraham Louis Perrelet invented the self winding movement.
Watch making enters its prime period in the years that followed. In 1791, J.F. Bautte founded the watch company that would eventually become Girard-Perregaux. In 1820, Thomas Prest registers a patent for the self-winding watch. In 1833 Antoine LeCoultre started his own watch making business that would eventually become Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Other big names and when they were founded:
Minerva founded in 1858
Heuer founded in 1860
Zenith founded in 1865
Movado founded in 1881
Rolex founded in 1905
Citizen founded in 1918
Seiko founded in 1924
But probably the most innovative and best-selling watch of all time is the Timex. Timex created the Waterbury pocket watch in the 1880s and made affordable timekeeping a mainstay for the average man.
By the turn of the twentieth century, the watch industry’s first and most successful mass marketer, Robert H. Ingersoll, worked with Waterbury Clock, a partner of Timex, to distribute the company’s Yankee pocket watch, the first to cost just one dollar. Twenty years later, with nearly forty million sold, the Yankee became the world’s largest seller and the watch that made the dollar famous. Everyone carried the Yankee: from Mark Twain to miners, from farmers to factory workers, from office clerks to sales clerks. Throughout the rest of the 20th Century, Timex conquered the low-end market selling 500 million watches by the end of the 1970s.
And the watch market has continued to grow and expand in the following years. With the introduction of the digital watch in 1972, watchmakers had brand new roads to explore in the area or portable timekeeping. It is now not so uncommon to find watches that can do everything under the sun from reading the wearers heart rate to playing music. But telling time is still the number-one priority.
So whether youre more interested in the fashion statement your watch makes (Rolex, Heuer, Seiko) or the practicality of your watch (Timex, Casio, Citizen), there will always be numerous choices out there.
Hey, anyone know what time it is? I think Im late.
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Allen Shaw is a successful author who provides tips and information on brand name watches and watches in general. I am the news director at USA News Network and have been working as freelance writer for 2 years. I’ve been published in a few magazines, newspapers and websites and my specialty up to this point has been movie and music reviews.
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Do you ever wonder where all the dress rules have gone? Depending on when and where you are on any given business day, the words distant past might come to mind. It’s difficult to decide if people don’t know what to wear to work or if they have lost sight of the relevance of appearance to professional success.
The Queen of England is reported to have told Prince Charles, Dress gives one the outward sign from which people can judge the inward state of mind. One they can see, the other they cannot. Clearly, she was saying what many people are reluctant to accept; that people judge us by the way we dress. In all situations, business and social, our outward appearance sends a message.
Try going to a busy restaurant at lunchtime. Look around you at what people are wearing and see if you don’t make judgments about who they are, their line of business, their personalities and their competencies. Think about how you feel when you are dressed in your usual business attire as opposed to casual dress. Your choice of business apparel speaks to your professional behavior and credibility. It is important to understand how to dress for business if you wish to promote yourself and your organization in a positive manner,
How you dress depends on four factors: the industry in which you work, the job you have within that industry, the geographic area in which you live; and most importantly, what your client expects to see.
Professional Dress for Men
In men’s clothing, fashion does not change significantly from season to season but business attire is about being professional and not about being fashionable. It’s about presenting yourself in a way that makes your clients feel comfortable and confident with you. Dressing for success is still the rule. The professional businessman should keep in mind these few points when deciding what to wear to work.
Choose a conservative suit in navy, black or gray either pinstripe or solid. The quality of the material speaks as loudly as the color and can make the difference between sleaze and suave.
A solid white or blue dress shirt with long sleeves offers the most polished look. The more pattern and color you add, the more the focus is on your clothing, rather than your professionalism.
Ties should be made of silk or a silk-like fabric. Avoid the cartoon characters and go for simple and subtle if you want to enhance your credibility.
Socks should be calf-length or above. Make sure they match not only what you are wearing, but also each other. A quick glance in good light before heading out the door can save embarrassment later in the day. Check for holes as well if you’ll be going through airport security and removing your shoes.
Shoes should without question be conservative, clean and well polished. Lace-up shoes are the choice over slip-ons or flip flops. Don’t think for a minute that people don’t notice shoes. Many people will look at your feet before your face.
Belts need to match or closely coordinate with your shoes. Once again, quality counts.
Keep jewelry to a minimum. In a time when men sport gold necklaces, bracelets and earrings, the business professional should limit himself to a conservative watch, a wedding band and maybe his college ring.
Personal hygiene is part of the success equation. Freshly scrubbed wins out over heavily fragranced any day of the week. Save the after-shave for after hours, but never the shave itself.
The finishing touch for the business man is his choice of accessories: briefcase, portfolio and pen. When it comes to sealing the deal, a top of the line suit, a silk tie and a good pair of leather shoes can lose their affect when you pull out the ball point pen you picked up in the hotel meeting room the day before.
Professional Dress for Women
When women entered the workplace in the 1970’s and 1980’s in greater numbers than ever before and began to move into positions which had traditionally been held by men, many of them believed that they needed to imitate male business attire. The result was women showing up at the office in skirted suits or coordinated skirts and jackets with tailored blouses finished off with an accessory item that looked very much like a man’s tie. Happily those days are gone. While the business woman may now wear trousers to work, she does it out of a desire to appear professional and at the same time enjoy the flexibility and comfort that pants offer over skirts. Her goal is no longer to mirror her male colleagues.
The same overall rules apply to women’s work attire as apply to men’s. Business clothing is not a reflection of the latest fashion trend. A woman should be noticed for who she is and her professional skills rather than for what she wears. Her business wear should be appropriate for her industry and her position or title within the industry.
Start with a skirted suit or pants suit for the most conservative look. A skirted suit is the most professional. With a few exceptions, dresses do not offer the same credibility unless they are accompanied by matching jackets.
Skirts should be knee-length or slightly above or below. Avoid extremes. A skirt more than two inches above the knee raises eyebrows and questions.
Pants should break at the top of the foot or shoe. While Capri pants and their fashion cousins that come in assorted lengths from mid-calf to ankle are the latest trend, they are out of place in the conservative business environment.
Blouses and sweaters provide color and variety to woman’s clothing, but they should be appealing rather than revealing. Inappropriate necklines and waistlines can give the wrong impression.
Women need to wear hose in the business world. Neutral or flesh-tone stockings are the best choices. Never wear dark hose with light-colored clothing or shoes. Keep an extra pair of stockings in your desk drawer unless the hosiery store is next door or just down the street from the office.
Faces, not feet, should be the focal point in business so chose conservative shoes. A low heel is more professional than flats or high heels. In spite of current fashion and the sandal rage, open-toed or backless shoes are not office attire. Not only are sandals a safety hazard, they suggest a certain official agenda.
When it comes to accessories and jewelry, less is once again more. Keep it simple: one ring per hand, one earring per ear. Accessories should reflect your personality, not diminish your credibility.
Business attire is different from weekend and evening wear. Investing in a good business wardrobe is an investment in your professional future. For those who think it’s not what you wear but who you are that creates success, give that some more thought. Business skills and experience count, but so does personal appearance and that all-important first impression.
2005, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.
Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her web site http://www.mannersthatsell.com
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Trends in fashion design are more prevailing, more significant, and are more meticulously observed. Starting with whats hot in terms of the hippest bling, bling in new colors, to the technique and vibe of the moment. Fashion Icon Sol Chicks presents a wide-range of designs and designers on her online website. The painted on jeans is an innovative approach and cutting edge inspired by Nikki Kinsey, Owner of Sol Chicks.
For designers and anyone involved in fashion marketing, design by Nikki Kinsey is a one-of-a-kind inspirational platform; and sets the stage for rising designers. Finally someone gives us some edge, a Chick Chics dream to wear one-of-a-kind jeans, not the cookie-cutter mold that most of us have to conform to. The jeans and her designs are an indispensable one-of-a-kind piece. Cameron Diaz Wears Them. They are the Imminent Craze Vogue Icon Sol Chicks.
Nikki Kinsey is from Omaha, Nebraska. born and raised, she received degrees in both Fine Art and Graphic Design at Dana College, a small liberal arts school in NE, and have been in marketing and design ever since. We asked what inspires Nikki and she said; Inspiration can really come from anywhere. Sometimes its found by flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine, but other times it can come out just by seeing the folds in the fabric of a coat or a reflection in a store window. The key is to be aware of your surroundings and take note of things most others just past by.
There is more to fashion with owner and designer Nikki Kinsey. Sol Chicks Move Against AIDS Dance-a-thon in New York City, held December 7th, 2005 is more than just a fashion icon. Their humanitarian efforts are making noise. These events mean so much more when we work with organizations, both local and national, who are supporting issues such as this one, states Sol Chicks owner Nikki Kinsey. Its great to have a celebrity name endorsing your work, but its even better when it comes as a result of supporting a worthy cause.
A-listers such as supermodels Naomi Campbell and Tyson Beckford, Jai Rodriguez of Queer Eye and radio diva Wendy Williams all came together to support AIDS research, boogie down, and get a luxury gift bag worth over $1,300. Included in each bag was a gift certificate designed and produced by C3D that can be redeemed for a pair of custom, hand-painted denim jeans created by Sol Chicks. The company has already received client calls from LA within a week of the show; Said, Nikki Kinsey.
Sol Chicks is fashion Icon; it is my obligation and my duty to start sporting a pair for myself. Sol Chicks painted on jeans is an affordable one-of-a-kind gear for the fashion conscious chic in mind. I can really see these going global; especially our international market in Japan.
Sol Chicks screams Vogue.
I’ve been a journalist for 5 years and currently I am the senior editor of a syndicated on-line and print entertainment magazine writing columns and doing editing work. I first started my writing career as a specialist for a recruitment agency writing resumes or Curriculum Vitae.
For the last four years I have worked full-time as the owner of my freelance writing. I am also a K-12 educator. I have weekly/monthly columns that appear on line. I also maintain and perform all written content for a writers content publication. I have had several of my works published in publications, newspapers in Japan and the UK as well as the US.
Vist Me at http://www.sheunlimited.com
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