As easily deduced from the name pocket watches are a type of watch typically carried in the pocket, but also were worn about the neck. First introduced during the sixteenth century, these watches were initially referred to as “transportable watches.”
This is because this was the first type of timepiece that did not have to remain in one place as traditional clocks did. This began a revolution of precise time-pieces that could be carried with a person.
During the seventeenth century, makers of pocket watches were considered to be artists based on the fact that they added original designs and touches to each individual watch that they created. Eventually the original box-like design was replaced with a round and much slimmer casing. In this same time period, Christian Huygens improved time-keeping even further through the discovery of the pendulum law. This allowed watch makers to begin adding a minute hand to pocket watches.
The following century, watch makers greatly increased the value of pocket watches by using jewels and gemstones as bearings. Some watches even included diamond fittings. Another step forward in the precision of time keeping came with the addition of a second hand and use of oil to smooth the rotation of watch hands. This also increased the life of the watch.
Additionally, during this era a new type of pocket watch was introduced, the Railroad pocket watches. These were used by engineers and conductors to keep trains on time and monitor arrivals and departures. This precision in time keeping allowed better train schedules to develop and avoid accidents caused by more than one train attempting to use the same track at the same time.
The pocket watch only became more and more popular through the 19th and 20th centuries until the introduction of the modern wristwatch. However, pocket watches are still made and there are many avid collectors who recognize that for hundreds of years the pocket watch was the single most important time keeper.
photo credit: alexkerhead