{"product_id":"ingersoll-radiolite-as01726","title":"Ingersoll Radiolite","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"There will be no more parades...\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter the bells sounded on Armistice Day, the soldiers who had \"cursed through sludge\" in the trenches of the Great War brought home with them tools and technologies developed during the terrible conflict. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese were not just instruments of destruction, but life-changing--sometimes life-saving--innovations. Portable X-Ray machines, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/arts-culture\/unmanned-drones-have-been-around-since-world-war-i-16055939\/?no-ist\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Analog\/Shift X Smithsonian History Of Drones\"\u003edrones\u003c\/a\u003e, sun lamps, and tea bags were all developed during the First World War and then employed in the civilian realm once the war had ended. Watches are no exception--in fact, it's in no small part due to the war that wristwatches became so popular. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile soldiers had worn pocket watches strapped to the wrist since the 1860s, it wasn't until WWI that the need for precise timekeeping was recognized as paramount for strategy and tactical advantage. The introduction of aerial combat and timed artillery strikes necessitated a timepiece that could be read at a glance, and pocket watches simply would no longer suit that purpose. So soldiers strapped watches to their wrists, and carried them home at parade's end. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCartier is one brand that popularized wristwatches \"over there.\" The design of its signature \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/watches\/products\/cartier-tank-louis\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Cartier Tank Louis\"\u003eTank\u003c\/a\u003e line, epitome of class, was inspired by the tanks that Louis Cartier glimpsed on the battlefield. On the home front, Hamilton and Elgin produced wristwatches for the American market. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIngersoll, another American brand, got its start selling rubber stamps via mail order in the 1880s. By the 1890s they were selling watches produced by the Waterbury Clock Company. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring the First World War, Ingersoll repurposed its Midget pocket watch for use on the wrists of American soldiers, starting a civilian trend once the War had ended.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Radiolite wristwatch, introduced in 1919, incorporated another newfangled technology in its design: luminescence through Radium. Madame Curie's discovery was first used on watch dials produced by the U.S. Radium Corp in 1917, and Ingersoll started using radium on Radiolite pocket watches that same year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuminescent dials proved invaluable in the low-light conditions of tanks and airplane cockpits, and after the War, watches with radium dials found use in civilian occupations such as motoring and camping. Just as Ingersoll became a watch word for value (the brand's Liberty watch, introduced in 1896, retailed for only one American dollar, which Ingersoll touted as \"the watch that made the dollar famous\"), the Radiolite became the brand's most prolific model. In fact, an advertisement in an issue of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=-doDAAAAMBAJ\u0026amp;pg=RA1-PA208\u0026amp;lpg=RA1-PA208\u0026amp;dq=ingersoll+radiolite\u0026amp;source=bl\u0026amp;ots=9UYnC3HyPa\u0026amp;sig=eoo63pGxukXnK4eb1anMnReUqtI\u0026amp;hl=en\u0026amp;sa=X\u0026amp;ved=0ahUKEwiMk7i9lefPAhXGaD4KHUpaBHkQ6AEIYzAJ#v=onepage\u0026amp;q=ingersoll%20radiolite\u0026amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Popular Mechanics Radiolite\"\u003ePopular Mechanics\u003c\/a\u003e from 1917 states that \"nearly one-third of the Ingersoll watches now sold are Radiolites.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis expression bears a serial number dating it approximately to 1926, in the height of post-war wristwatch popularity. In keeping with its roots as a trench watch, the case is large even by today's standards, at 40mm. The stark black dial is highly legible, the puffy Arabic numerals prominent. Coming with its original strap and box (!!), the watch exudes a militant and sporty vibe, \u003c\/span\u003ecomfortably inhabiting the realm between military and civilian life, and is without question a brilliant piece of American watchmaking history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ingersoll","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":27705623553,"sku":null,"price":295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/products\/Ingersoll_Wrist_Radiolite_Box_AS01726_1.jpg?v=1476806703","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/ingersoll-radiolite-as01726","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}