Travelling Back In Time

Hi,

Have a close look at me. Apart from being a watch of Soviet era vintage you may have noticed that I just have one hand.

Now don't think I am a defective piece, caused due to bad workmanship. I was meant to be like that only. 

In an era when watches are turning into wearable devices and checking time comes way down the priority list, I may look like a laughable oddity.

I may evoke the same amusement as Mumbai's ancient Premier Padmini taxis, with their clumsy column mounted gears, to a Formula One driver.

I know the questions coming to your mind. "How the heck did guys those days check time? Were they only concerned about hours and not minutes?"

Relax, those were early days of watches and people had a different way of looking at it. In fact during 16th century telling the time using just a single hand was the normal way. Timekeeping began with just a single hand, sundials and the early church clocks kept time this way and pocket watches too followed the norm.

The second hand was introduced only in late 17th century and for the people then it seemed as odd as single hand watches appear to you today.

Reading time on single hand watch does not look as difficult as it may seem. A dial is divided into 144 markers and each of them represents 5 minutes. The 15 and 30 minute markers are bolder.

Now using that yardstick, the time shown on the above watch (double click to zoom the image) is 10:20. Simple, isn't it!

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