The 1920s

The decade the wrist won. Harwood revived self-winding in 1924, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Duoplan made small movements reliable in 1925, and Rolex patented the Oyster in 1926. Cartier expanded faster than anyone and still never made a hundred watches a year — the Cintrée in 1921, the Chinoise in 1922, the jump-hour Guichets in 1928.