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Pocket Watch
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here to see our selection of Pocket Watches.
 These
strapless personal timepieces carried in a pocket display a traditional
analog. Pocket watches usually have a chain to be secured to a belt
loop and a hinged cover to protect the watch face. Another common
feature is a fastener designed to put through a buttonhole wear
inside a jacket or waistcoat.
Pocket watches are usually one of two types: the lepine or the
savonette. The lepine has a winding stem in line with the seconds-marking
dial found on the face, whereas the savonette winding stem is perpendicular
to the orientation of the seconds dial on the face of the watch.
A traditional lepine's winding stem is set at the twelve o'clock
position. The savonette's winding stem is most often placed at the
three o'clock position. When read, a lepine stem is held straight
up. To read a savonette watch, one must turning the watch 90°,
pointing the stem to the right. A lepine watch is open-faced with
a large, scratch resistant crystal covering, where a savonette watch
usually has a protective lid hinged over the face.
Modern manufacturers of pocket watches, especially those watches
with a quartz movement are not bound by tradition. It is possible
today to find watches with a lepine orientation in a closed-faced
hunter case, and vice versa.
Early pocket watches
In the 16th century the watch was first created along with the spring-driven
clock. These watches were big and were worn around the neck. It
was not for another hundred years that it became common to wear
a pocket watch.
During the last half of the 19th century, railroading became more
and more common, and led to more frequent use of pocket watches.
Pocket watches actually became required equipment for all railroad
workers.
In 1887 the American Railway Association met to define basic standards
for watches. Unfortunately, it took a disaster to begin the widespread
acceptance of stringent standards the American Railway Association
was going for. A famous train wreck in Kipton, Ohio on April 19,
1891 happened due to one engineers' watch, because it had stopped
for four minutes. Requirements then became very strict for railroad
workers. Additional standards were raised in later years in response
to additional needs.
Decline in popularity
Pocket watches uncommon presently, and have been for some time.
Up until about the turn of the 20th century, the pocket watch was
more popular and the wristwatch was considered unmanly. Pocket watches
were mostly replaced by wristwatches around the time of World War
I, when officers began to appreciate the convenience of a watch
worn on the wrist. Pocket watches still continued to be used in
the railroading industry even as their popularity diminished everywhere
else.
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