101 REYKJAVIK "Our Old Town Center"

Kvosin is the oldest part of the city of Reykjavík and is now a part of its 101 postal code. It is almost certain that the first homesteaders in Kvosin, Ingolfur and Hallveig, would have used the movement of the sun to tell time, since that method of timekeeping was the most common in Iceland up until the last century. On their farm, when the sun was over Dagmalahnjukur it was about nine in the morning; and when the sun was over Nonklettar, it was three in the afternoon.

The following was put on paper in 1790: “Clocks are a rare commodity in Iceland. On a small number of farms you might find hourglasses, but most people tell time from the location of the Sun and the Seven Sisters, light and currents; or from their own intuition. It was considered the highest state of snobbery not to be satisfied with those methods of timekeeping; it had been good enough up to now.”

Eventually, a cathedral called “Domkirkja” was built near Austurvöllur and a clock was put in its tower. Night watchmen would walk the streets of old Reykjavik calling out the times at set intervals. The accuracy of the night watchmen was problematic because they were habitually too drunk to be dependable. At the turn of the last century, a square named “Lækjartorg”, in the centre of the 101 postcode, grew to be the busiest hub in downtown Reykjavik, a mainstay for cars and later, buses.

With all the activity centred in the vicinity of the square, the clock in the centre of Lækjartorg developed into a popular rendezvous point for lovers and industrious businessmen. 101 Reykjavik, therefore, became the first and foremost influence for the development of timepieces in Iceland. Ever since watches became widely owned, they would be the piece pawned to buy one more drink or for a ride home after a night on the town.

Surely, it was most appropriate that JS Watch Co Reykjavik should produce an exclusively designed watch, the 101, dedicated to the old town centre, as that was where we started out by assembling 100 pieces of prototype watches in the workshop and store. Word quickly spread that JS Watch Co. Reykjavik was the place to come for personal service and classic wristwatches. Before long, we had almost sold out, so the new line marked our 101st sale as well.