Did you know?
Legends are often born from a simple misunderstanding, which is how the Nuremberg egg came to be known as the first ever watch. In 1571, Johann Fischart translated Rabelais’ description of Peter Henlein’s timepiece – “Nuremberg’s little living clock” – as “Nörnbergergisches lebendigen Auerlein”, (Auerlein being an old form of Uhrlein meaning “small clock”). However, through mispronunciation, Auer (clock) was gradually replaced by Eier (egg). Four centuries later, in 1942, the Third Reich propaganda machine was in full swing when the postal services issued a stamp that fuelled the legend by which Peter Henlein had invented the watch. We now know that watches were already being sold in Italy in 1488, when Peter Henlein was still a young boy.