Switzerland / England · Perrelet-era claims c. 1770s (disputed); Harwood granted Swiss and British patents in the 1920s
Self-Winding (Automatic) Mechanism
Partially verifiedAutomatic winding removed the daily manual-winding requirement and, in Harwood's form, established the architecture (bumper weight, later rotor) refined by Rolex's Perpetual and subsequent full-rotor systems.
Eighteenth-century self-winding pocket watch mechanisms are attributed variously to Perrelet and to Hubert Sarton, whose 1778 Parisian academy description is the most concrete documentary claim; the two attributions have long been debated by horological historians.
The modern bumper-style automatic wristwatch mechanism was developed by John Harwood, who filed for patent protection in the early-to-mid 1920s and licensed production through Swiss manufacturers including Fortis.
How to verify this yourself
Harwood's patents can be searched in the UK Intellectual Property Office historical patent database and the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) register by inventor name and 1920s filing date; exact numbers are not asserted here pending that search.
Manufacturers known to have used it
- Fortis (Harwood licence)
- Rolex (rotor automatic, developed separately)
- most modern mechanical-watch manufacturers
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Cutmore, M., Watches 1850–1980
- NAWCC Bulletin, articles on the history of automatic winding
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.