Miniaturization in horology began in the 14th century, when table clocks became so small that they could be carried. This, in course, led to watches, which in the beginning were actually small, wearable clocks. Their popularity grew very quickly. Once the fashion of wearing watches was established, makers rivaled with each other for their miniaturization. Only the best, of course, could fit all the necessary parts in a small area, but some succeeded beyond expectations. By 1518 watchmakers were able to make movements so small that they could be placed within the hilt of a dagger. Some such pieces were made for Francois I of France, for which he paid a small fortune. Approximately fifty years later a watch was placed in a ring for Elizabeth I of England; it also possessed a curious alarm system, which pricked the Queen gently in the finger (Breguet used this system in his alarm rings 250 years later). By the early 17th century, miniaturization was in full bloom. A German maker produced a small stackfreed watch with a movement measuring only 10 mm., less than 4 1/2???! This watch is in the Musée International d?Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and is attributed to Johann Ulrich Schmidt of Augsburg. The stackfreed was an ideal equalizing mechanism for those who strived for miniaturization. The fusee took up space between the plates, while the stackfreed was placed over the back plate, taking very little room. The present watch, one of the smallest stackfreed watches known, demonstrates this well.