ANTIQUE WATCHES
Early portable clocks were large but still belonged to pocket watches. The first recorded reference to a "pocket clock" is in a letter from the Italian watchmaker Bartholomew Manfredi in 1462. At the end of the 15th century, clockwork led to the production of small pocket watches. By 1510, Peter Henlein, a watchmaker in Nuremberg, Germany, was making pocket watches. Pocket watches gradually became popular in Europe and became a common item and decoration for the upper classes.[1]
Pocket watch is divided into two categories because of its shape. Hunting type in the table with a transparent or opaque shell cover. The open type does not add shell cover. There is also a semi-hunting type with a partial shell cover.
The 18th century was the golden age of pocket watches. During this period pocket watch gradually developed, and in people's life to hold a position. At that time gentleman and pocket watch were almost bound to two words. Every gentleman in a suit carries a pocket watch. And there are three mainstream wear ways, Button Hole Chains, Single Albert Chains and Double Albert Chains.
Button Hole Chains
The chain is attached to a specific clasp, whether expensive engraved metal or leather, which is worn from the back into the buttonhole of a vest or coat, so that the chain can be pulled out of the inside of the front to place the watch in a side pocket. This is usually worn on a one-breaked waistcoat, but many versions of the two-breaked waistcoat still have a small hole between the two rows of buttons for the chain to slip through to allow gentlemen to show off their pocket watch.
[2] Button Hole Chains
Single Albert Chains
The most gentlemanly way to wear a
pocket watch in Britain is to pair a
waistcoat with an Albert watch chain.
It was invented by a 19th-century
Victorian, Prince Albert, as a way to
hang a pocket watch chain "vertically". He placed the t-shaped metal rod vertically into one of the buttonholes of the suit (because the buttonhole was horizontal, it stuck when it stood up) and the chain hung from the buttonhole in a natural and elegant arc.
[3] Single Albert Chains
Double Albert Chains
The double-headed Albert watch chain, nvented by Prince Albert, is a favorite of British gentlemen. The chain also comes with a T-shaped metal pole, which can be hung with ornaments such as a family crest or seal, and two chains to hold a pocket watch. It is worn in the same way as a single chain, but with an additional chain for hanging other items, such as a cigar cutter, knife, matchbox, etc., into the pocket of a waistcoat or jacket that is symmetrical to the pocket watch, which is a classic Victorian way to wear it.
[4] Double Albert Chains
More dress styles
In modern times, some people
have added more innovative
elements while retaining the
traditional gentleman's way of
wearing, and have more ways of
wearing, making it have more
influence.
There are also some modern men for nostalgia or decorative reasons, choose to wear pocket watches. However, with the popularization of mobile phones, many people will use mobile phones as a tool to show the time, and this kind of pocket watch, popular again.
At the end of the 19th century, watchmakers began making smaller watches. Early watches were mainly popular with women. During World War I, soldiers on the battlefield found watches more convenient than pocket watches. Since then, watches have gradually become common among men, gradually replacing the status of pocket watches.
The emergence of a variety of watches, to meet the needs of different people, so that watches have been a stable market.In now days, watches are still top-grade decorations and activity in people's lives.
[1] Anon, (2021). A Moment in Time - History of Pocket Watches. [online] Available at: https://wristwatchpro.com/pocket-watch-history/#:~:text=Pocket%20Watch%20History%20-%20A%20History%20as%20Intricate [Accessed 18 Dec. 2021].
[2].[3].[4].Brelsen. (2021). Brelsen® - Pocket Watches - Give them Something Special. [online] Available at: https://www.brelsen.com [Accessed 18 Dec. 2021].