The shape later evolved into a rounded form these were later called Nuremberg eggs. Many of the movements included striking or alarm mechanisms. The movement was made of iron or steel and held together with tapered pins and wedges, until screws began to be used after 1550. The face was not covered with glass, but usually had a hinged brass cover, often decoratively pierced with grillwork so the time could be read without opening. They were heavy drum shaped brass cylinders several inches in diameter, engraved and ornamented. These 'clock-watches' were fastened to clothing or worn on a chain around the neck. The first timepieces to be worn, made in 16th-century Europe, were transitional in size between clocks and watches. History Ī pocket watch, retrieved from shipwreck of Titanic from unknown victim of sinking Early watches only had an hour hand, the minute hand appearing in the late 17th century. Thereafter, pocket watch manufacture spread throughout the rest of Europe as the 16th century progressed. Peter Henlein, a master locksmith of Nuremberg, was regularly manufacturing pocket watches by 1526.

By the end of the 15th century, spring-driven clocks appeared in Italy, and in Germany. Also common are fasteners designed to be put through a buttonhole and worn in a jacket or waistcoat, this sort being frequently associated with and named after train conductors.Īn early reference to the pocket watch is in a letter in November 1462 from the Italian clockmaker Bartholomew Manfredi to the Marchese di Mantova Federico Gonzaga, where he offers him a 'pocket clock' better than that belonging to the Duke of Modena. Ostensibly practical gadgets such as a watch winding key, vesta case, or a cigar cutter also appeared on watch chains, although usually in an overly decorated style. Chains were frequently decorated with a silver or enamel pendant, often carrying the arms of some club or society, which by association also became known as a fob. Women's watches were normally of this form, with a watch fob that was more decorative than protective.

This fob could also provide a protective flap over their face and crystal. Watches were also mounted on a short leather strap or fob, when a long chain would have been cumbersome or likely to catch on things. Pocket watches generally have an attached chain to allow them to be secured to a waistcoat, lapel, or belt loop, and to prevent them from being dropped. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design, trench watches, were used by the military. Video was taken with 10 X-ray images per second.Ī pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. X-ray video of a pocket stopwatch with a clear visible mechanics of the watch.

Remington pocket watch