Pocket
Watches
 A
pocket watch is a strapless personal timepiece that is carried in
a pocket. Pocket watches generally have a chain to be secured that
can be secured to a waistcoat, lapel or belt loop The chain or ornaments
on it is commonly known as a fob. The display is generally analog
with a hinged cover to protect the face of the watch, although these
are often missing. Fasteners, designed to be put through a buttonhole
and worn in a jacket or waistcoat, are also quite common.
One of the earliest references to pocket watches comes in a letter
dated November 1462 from Italian clockmaker Bartholomew Manfredi
to the Marchese di Manta. In the letter, Manfredi offers di Manta
a 'pocket clock' better than that belonging to the Duke of Modena.
By the end of the 15th century spring-driven clocks appeared in
both Italy and Germany, where Peter Henlein a master locksmith of
Nuremberg was regularly manufacturing pocket watches by 1510. After
that, pocketwatches  were
commonly manufactured throughout Europe. These watches, however,
were quite big and were worn around their owner’s neck.
In 19th century North America, pocket watches were made popular
by the railroad. Because of the possibility of train wrecks and
other accidents, it was necessary for all railroad workers to know
the time accurately. Thus, pocket watches became standard equipment
for people working on the rails.
But more than wearing a pocket watch, the railroad found it necessary
to standardize some of the features. In 1887 the American Railway
Association held a meeting to define basic standards for watches,
but it wasn’t until the famous train wreck on the Lake Shore
and Michigan Southern Railway in Kipton, Ohio that these features
became mandatory. It was then that the Railway commissioned Webb
C. Ball as their Chief Time Inspector. It was his job to establish
precision measures and a ‘reliable timepiece inspection system’
for railway chronometers. In 1893 the Railway put into practice
these very strict rules for pocket watches and these railroad-grade
pocket watches had to meet the General Railroad Timepiece Standards
which included:
"...open
faced, size 16 or 18, have a minimum of 17 jewels, adjusted to
at least five positions, keep time accurately to within 30 seconds
a week, adjusted to temps of 34 to 100 °F. have a double roller,
steel escape wheel, lever set, regulator, winding stem at 12 o'clock,
and have bold black Arabic numerals on a white dial, with black
hands."
These rules were later adapted in response to additional needs and
changes in the trains. For example “the adoption of the diesel-electric
locomotive led to new standards from the 1940s on specifying that
timekeeping accuracy could not be affected by electromagnetic fields.
Pocket watches, of course, have neen replaced by wrist watches,
but that didn’t happen until the 20th century. Up until then,
wrist watches were considered too feminine for men. It wasn’t
until the First World War, when men in battle conceded that a watch
on the wrist was easier to access than one in a pocket, that wrist
watches took over from pocket watches in popularity, although pocket
watches are still used by railway personnel.
In the United States, a gold pocket watch, given as a gift, has
come to symbolize retirement, obsolescence, and old age. Famous
pocket watch companies include:
Ball
Watch Company - http://www.ballwatch.com//Web_EN/thecomp_museum.aspx
Elgin
Watch Company (National Watch Company) - http://elginwatches.org/index.html
Hamilton
Watch Company - http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/index_flash.html
Waltham
Watch Company -
http://www.antique-pocket-watch.com/waltham-pocket-watch- company.html
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