Pierre Curie:
was the first to observe the phenomenon of piezoelectricity, a discovery that would yield a precision time standard.

Walter Guyton Cady:
developed the first quartz crystal resonator.

George Washington Pierce:
developed several designs for quartz oscillator circuits.

Friedrich Reinitzer and Otto Lehmann:
discovered liquid crystals, materials that would eventually be used for watch time displays.

Warren Marrison:
developed the first quartz clock.

Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce:
independently invented the integrated circuit, the microelectronics package that controls the quartz wristwatch.

Max Hetzel:
invented the Accutron, the first tuning fork watch.