History

Century

Round watch with index and alarm

History of Watchmaking

Foundation of the Genevan Corporation of Watchmakers. After a minimum five-year apprenticeship, candidates for the title of master had to make "a small clock with an alarm to wear around the neck and a square clock on two levels to stand on a table."

World history

1600. Henri IV married his second wife, Marie de Médicis, daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Archduchess of Austria. She brought with her a dowry of 600,000 ecus and the guarantee of stronger ties between France and Italy.

Swiss history

1600. After living in Geneva, Giordano Bruno was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake in Rome. He had claimed that the Sun was just another star, described the universe as "infinite", and held that life forms existed elsewhere in this universe than on Earth.

1602. The "Escalade" when Geneva repelled an attack by the Duke of Savoy.

Art and Culture

Emergence of Baroque. Instauration of the Grand Tour, where artists would travel through Europe, in particular to Italy, to complete their education.
Gold crafting developed with the increased wearing of jewellery (enamelled medallions).
1603. Birth of Japanese Kabuki theatre.
1605. Publication by Cervantes of the first part of Don Quichotte, an immediate success.