History
The Harwood story starts at the beginning of the 20th century in a small watchmaker’s workshop on the Isle of Man in the UK.

Synonymous with the historical development of watches is the name John Harwood as the history of the first automatic wristwatch is his story. Being a soldier during World War I, he had experienced the short comings of the wristwatches available at that time. As an experienced watchmaker John Harwood knew problems, such as dust and moisture, were the most common factors in the watch movement repairs he encountered. He had the vision of a new type of a reliable wristwatch without the open-ing for the winding stem, which he identified as the point of failure. For this reason, Harwood paid particular attention to the development of a different winding and setting mechanisms, which needed to be located inside the watch. After observing children playing on a seesaw, he began to envision the basics of his self-winding mechanism.

Harwood had traveled to Switzerland with his two working prototypes and his detailed construction plans as he felt that only there he could find the technical conditions for the realization of his invention. On September 1st, 1924, one year after he registered his invention at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property of the Swiss Confederation at Berne, Harwood was issued patent No. 106583 for this pioneering invention.
Prototype of the HARWOOD Automatic
The culmination of a series of trials was the first prototype of a HARWOOD. A toothed oscillating pendulum in the center of the movement’s back-side used the wearer’s kinetic energy to wind the mainspring and thus, the idea of the automatic movement was born.
Original construction plans of the Harwood Automatic 1922

As the only female passenger on board, American journalist Lady Drummond Hay kept time with her HARWOOD watch.
("THE PRACTICAL WATCH AND CLOCK MAKER" November 15, 1929)
The airship ”Count Zeppelin” on its around-the-world-trip in 1929, started in Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA; this world orbit was completed in 21 days. Anchored under palm trees in Pernambuco, Brazil.