It's About Time (Part 1)

There’s something about a pocket watch that’s a little bit magical. And that includes the history of this amazing device.

In the 16^th century, most people still used the sun to gauge the hour. While there might be a clock in a public square, few private citizens owned one. Then, in 1504, German clockmaker Peter Henlein took mechanical timekeeping to the next level. He made it portable for the first time in history by inventing the pocket watch.   

For the next three hundred years, pocket watches were the ultimate status symbols. They were certainly inaccurate by today’s standards; like clocks of the period, the earliest pocket watches had to be wound twice a day with a key! Still, their intricate movements were cutting-edge technology in their day. Pocket watch cases, which jewelers crafted separately, could be miniature works of art. Only the wealthy could afford these precious yet practical objects.   

  

English gold filigree pocket watch, 17th century

Fast-forward to America in the late 1800s. Two events were about to transform the world of pocket watches. The first was mass production, which made them affordable for many more people. The second was a fatal Cleveland-area train wreck. The culprit: an engineer’s inaccurate watch. As a result of the crash, American railroads set the country’s first universal timekeeping standards. The improved railroad pocket watches were an instant hit, and not just with railroad employees. Many companies made them, including Elgin, Waltham, and Hamilton. With their clean, almost modern design, they are popular with watch lover and collectors alike.

American railroad pocket watch by Waltham

A vintage pocket watch is more than a piece of history or another way to tell time. It’s a fashion statement, like the cut of your jeans. And it's definitely a conversation piece 

 

   

Next Week: How to choose a vintage pocket watch and wear it with style