History

Century

Eterna © MIH

History of Watchmaking

The women's magazine Femina polled its readers for their opinions of wristwatches. Of the 4,350 respondents, 3,437 said they found wristwatches "extremely practical." 480 had yet to get to grips with them, while just 433 preferred the pendant watch.

Creation by Eterna of the first series-production wristwatch with alarm.

World history

On a visit to Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sofia were assassinated by a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip.
Outbreak of the First World War.

Swiss history

Switzerland was surrounded by belligerent nations, though avoided the worse thanks to its neutrality and its army. German-speaking Switzerland supported the central Empires; the French-speaking cantons the Allies. Supplies were difficult to obtain. Imports from the allied countries (overseas products) outweighed imports from the central Empires (coal). Both insisted that these goods not be re-exported, which handicapped Swiss industry, based primarily on transformation and export.