When was the automatic wristwatch movement invented?

The concept of an automatic (or self-winding) movement has older roots, dating back to pocket watches.

• The invention of the automatic pocket watch movement is generally credited to Abraham-Louis Perrelet around 1770. Later, Abraham-Louis Breguet refined the design and sold automatic pocket watches.

However, the automatic movement as we know it in wristwatches (which uses the movement of the wearer's arm) had its real development and diffusion in the 20th century.

• The first commercially successful automatic wristwatch was invented by British watchmaker John Harwood , who patented his system in 1923 (with a Swiss patent) and marketed it in 1926 , thanks to a collaboration with the Swiss manufacturer Fortis . This system used an oscillating weight that moved in a limited arc (the so-called "bumper" movement).

• Rolex later refined Harwood's design in 1931 with the introduction of its 360-degree rotor , which became the heart of the Oyster Perpetual line and the prototype for most modern automatic movements.