Unlike wristwatches which are meant to be worn on the wrist, a pocket watch, as the name implies, is a watch placed on the pocket. They often come in traditional analog displays. It can be placed on any of the coat pockets, on the trousers, or vest pockets and are often attached by a chain to a belt loop or the lapel for security.
A pocket watch cannot be called such without its ornamental parts. It has a chain, also called the fob, to secure the watch that is usually made of such materials as gold and silver. The cover that is found in most pocket watches to protect the face of the watch may be designed with intricate engravings or studded with gemstones. Pocket watches also should have fasteners to secure them properly.
Pocket watches have been around long before wristwatches became popular. The first reference to quartz movement pocket watch ever made was in a letter written to the Marchese di Manta from an Italian clock maker named Bartholomew Manfredi in the year 1462. The letter was a proposal to make the Marchese a pocket clock that would surpass the quality of that owned by the Duke of Modena.
Spring-driven pocket clocks became known in Italy during the end of the 1400s. The first pocket watch that can actually be pocketed was made in 1510 by a locksmith named Peter Heinlein who was from Nuremberg. After that, the manufacture of pocket watches spread rapidly all over Europe.
There are two types of pocket watches: open-faced and the covered type. The open-faced pocket watches do not have the cover that flips open. The latter, also known as hunter type or savonette, has a hinged cover to protect the watch face from scratches and breakage. Pocket watches has a seconds dial that is located at the six oclock position, a stem for the chain at twelve oclock, and a hunter stem for the hinged cover at six oclock. Another type of pocket watch that looks interesting is the traditional wind-up mechanical pocket watches.
Most of our modern watches are dependent on quartz movement rather than the wind up mechanism.
Pocket watches are not as common today as it was before, but they are still used, not just as time implements, but as upscale, elegant accessories. Pocket watches as well as pocket watch chains make perfect presents for traditionalists. Theyre especially good sentimental gifts as their metal cover inside and out can easily be engraved with special messages of many characters.
Pocket watches come in different forms and styles: there are Swiss Army Pocket watches, ladies pendants, chronograph and traditional pocket watches. Any of them can make a great gift.