Gold Pocket Watches: History & Valuations

The History of Gold Pocket Watches

The earliest watches date to the mid-1500s and are single-hand, drum shaped watches that would have been hung proudly about the neck as a statement of the owner’s wealth and access to technological advancements. These early ‘pocket-watches’ were of the verge escapement style – and verge watches with a few improvements dominated the watch world for over 300 years.

Early watches had one hand and their accuracy may have varied by as much as 15 to 30minutes per day – an error that did not have too much impact until the development of rail and extensive sea travel, which required greater accuracy for safety and navigation.

Early decoration on pocket watches

The very first watches were not particularly decorated because the watch itself as a technical achievement was enough of a proclamation of wealth. As watches became more widespread decoration was added. This period of history was puritanical and watch decoration reflects that; early watches, often oval, appeared plain on the outside while bearing intricate engravings on the inner mechanisms.

Early decoration was mostly in the form of gilding to the brass work – a feature that also helped protect the watch from corrosion – and decorative engraving. Piercing of the case of the clock was also common as it added decoration and allowed the watch to be read while the case was closed. Hands remained relatively simple but did sometimes have raised pins that would allow the pocket watch to be read in the dark.

Decoration quickly evolved and the early seventeenth century produced some fantastically decorated watches in a variety of styles and shapes, all designed to be worn around the neck. Decoration followed the art of the time and thus many early watches had religious aspects. Cases in the shape of crosses and even skulls can be found from this period as well as beautiful paintings of saints and religious scenes that reflect popular artwork of the time. As well as gilding in precious metals, engraving, piercing, jewelling and enamel work were carried out by master jewellers, metalsmiths and artists.

Secondary Cases for pocket watches

As decoration of watch cases became more and more elaborate a second case became necessary to protect increasingly delicate filigree and enamel work. These cases were less elaborate but were still decorated with pique work, tortoiseshell and precious metals. The use of second cases, possibly alongside a change in tastes, eventually contributed to reduced decoration on the case of the watch itself as it was unseen.

From 1630 glass was fitted to watches often in the form of carved rock crystal which protected the dial and allowed the watch to be read without opening the case. This allowed personal watches to be stored in the pocket rather than around the neck, and hence from around 1640 watches became more akin to the pocket watches we recognise today.

The Seventeenth Century Pocket Watch

When the balance spring was introduced and a minute hand added, the dial’s hour markers were represented with roman numerals and minute markers were shown in Arabic numbers in a slightly smaller font than the hour markers. Different dial styles were trialled but did not gain popularity; alternatives include turning disks with either the sun/moon or a small aperture that indicated the time and a complicated differential dial that allowed one hand to show both the hour and minutes. The style that was the most popular was the one that we still recognise today; with a distinctive longer minute hand and shorter hour hand.

The hands themselves became much more decorative during this time and glass was almost always used to cover the dial meaning that the time could no longer be told using touch. However, ‘repeaters’ were introduced in the late 1680s meaning that the issue of telling the time in the dark was already solved.

Eighteenth Century Verge Pocket Watches

Verge watches with balance springs dominated the pocket watch world from around 1700 until the mid-1800s, when the lever watch came to the forefront of personal watches. Watches of this period are decorated in a wide range of styles.

On the continent we see the introduction of the Châtelaine or ‘charm watch.’ These were large pendants from which hung several highly decorated items such as a signet, music box and winding key; the watch became one part of a greater presentation of wealth and status.

The later third of the 1700s saw the introduction of 4-colour gold, whereby gold of different shades (created by altering the alloys) was used to form patterns along with jewels and pearls. Fantastic examples of repoussé work can be found on cases from this period, as well as intricately pierced cases from the middle of the century, the latter being especially found in repeating watches.

Metal faces remained popular through the early 1700s and Champlevé dials are particularly fine examples of dial decoration from this period. In English pocket watches there is a simplification of case style during the later part of the 1700s as watches became more elegant. From 1720 we see the introduction of the white enamel dial and black numerals that would be largely recognisable as the style seen in modern watches.

The Lever Escapement in Pocket Watches

While the verge watch was perfectly adequate for personal use, the refinements, time and technical skill needed to make it accurate enough for precision use meant that it was eventually replaced by a more efficient model. Modern day mechanical watches use a detached lever escapement, a system that benefits from being accurate and robust enough for everyday use. The Swiss lever escapement is used in almost all modern watches having been refined in the 19^th century, however the watch thought to be the oldest detached lever watch was created by an English watchmaker; Thomas Mudge.

Watchmakers in France were working on lever escapements around the same time as those in England and the creation of what we know today as the lever escapement can certainly be considered to have been developed and refined over a period by different watchmakers. However, a pocket watch by the English watchmaker Mudge is the oldest known watch to use a detached lever escapement. The watch was a gift to the then King George III and now resides in Windsor castle.

Whist much more accurate than verge escapement, the first lever watches were very difficult to make. Even Mudge felt the difficultly of creating the ‘new’ lever watch negated the benefits provided and he abandoned his work on the lever escapement to focus on maritime chronometers.

Nineteenth Century Pocket Watches

From the 1800s we see a real split in English versus European pocket watch style. English pocket watches were largely handmade and retained an elegant, simple style with roman numerals. Additionally, 1850 sees the introduction of compulsory hallmarks in England, which makes dating English watches much simpler after this period.

In Europe pocket watch styles were more ornate with painted decoration and Arabic numbers. Small, decorative pocket watches came into fashion; watches as rings or broaches that were not immediately obvious as watches. These pocket watches were often made in gold and decorated in coloured enamel, precious gems, semiprecious stones and half pearls.

Thin pocket watches gained popularity in Europe through the start of the nineteenth century thanks to improvements in the size of the fusee – or complete removal through other compensation. The use of gongs also allowed thinner repeaters, which remained popular. One of the most significant shifts we see between European and English watchmaking in the nineteenth century is the use of machine-made parts on the continent. As a result, watchmakers in France and Switzerland were able to produce watches more cheaply than those handmade in England. It can be argued that the refusal of English watchmakers to adapt to the desire for thinner, cheaper, machine-made watches was the start of the shift of watchmaking from England to France and eventually to Switzerland.

Crown Winding & Perpetual Movement

The start of the nineteenth century sees the introduction of keyless winding, first with pump winding (via a lever and sometimes a cover) and eventually by the mid-1800s with crown winding. At first the hands had to be set by pressing a separate button, but by 1860 that too was incorporated into the crown.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, self-winding pocket watches had been invented some 70 years prior in 1770 by Perrelet and developed from 1777-1780 by Breguet – who also introduced a just as mysteriously unpopular shockproof device for his watches. The early perpetual watches were not terribly popular, partly because the motion imparted when they were carried in the pocket was not sufficient for winding, and partly because they were not easily compatible with the fusee, which was still used particularly in England, until the late 1800s. In fact, self-winding did not gain popularity in watches until they were used in wrist watches in the early twentieth century.

Twentieth Century Pocket Watches

The early twentieth century was arguably the pinnacle of pocket watch making. Cumulating in the Henry Graves Super Complication in 1933, a pocket watch by Patek Phillippe with 24 complications. It remained the most complicated pocket watch for 50 years until Patek Phillippe broke their own record and is still the most expensive watch ever sold at auction – hammering for $24million in 2014.

The popularity of pocket watches was already in decline when Henry Graves commissioned his pocket watch; between 1920 and 1940 pocket watches lost significant ground to the convenience and compact size of wrist watches. Nevertheless, pocket watches are still in demand, as shown by the creation of the Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 in 2015, which now holds the current record for the most complicated pocket watch ever, and while the price was undisclosed is almost certainly the most expensive watch ever sold.

Pocket watches, and escially gold pocket watches remain popular with collectors and watches with a story, rare complications or multiple complications are particularly sought-after by collectors.