There are several reasons why you can consider buying a pocket watch: to equip yourself with an elegant and timeless accessory, to enrich your collection of watches, or to make an investment in the value it will acquire in the future.
Whatever the reason for which you approach the world of pocket watches, it is good to know the characteristics that distinguish the different types in order to prune home the right model for your needs. Let's start by discovering, first of all, what is their original form and how they used to wear them.
The differences between mechanical watches and quartz watches are to be found in their working mechanism. The purpose of both, of course, remains to indicate the time and both produce the characteristic ticking, however, are based on a profoundly different system to animate the gears. Let's see them in detail.
The first mechanical clocks were made during the Middle Ages and already in the fourteenth century in many squares of major European cities it was possible to admire bell towers decorated with large dials, which indicated the time for the benefit of citizens.
The operation of the mechanical clock is based on the energy generated by a mainspring, activated by a key, and stored inside a barrel. The longer the mainspring, the longer the autonomy of the watch, which typically reaches around 40 hours. In more advanced models, however, mechanical watches can have a power reserve that covers up to an entire week.
In addition to manual winding, mechanical watches can also be automatic. In this case, the watch is equipped with an oscillating mass (winding rotor) that, moving on the basis of hand gestures, transmits energy to the spring, winding it.
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Although the first quartz pocket watch did not see the light of day until 1971, the technology was used as early as 1939 for the Greenwich Observatory.
Basically, the quartz pocket watch uses the energy produced by a small battery to move the hands: the impulse of the electrical voltage reaches a quartz crystal which - by means of an inverse piezoelectric effect - begins to oscillate, activating the ticking.
Let's now get into the specifics of pocket watches, which are divided into four main types:
The first distinction concerns the open face and the hunter version: the former has the dial exposed, while the latter is equipped with a circular cover with a hinge.
Let's look specifically at each type of pocket watch and the most beautiful models of each.
Open face pocket watches, as mentioned, are without a lid. This type is widely used today, however, in the 1700s and 1800s it was quite rare, as the materials of the timepieces were at risk of being easily damaged.
Full hunter watches feature a full metal cover on the outside, often decorated with engravings and relief motifs.
Half hunter pocket watches feature a cover with a hole or crystal that allows you to read the time without the need to open the cover.
The type of double hunter pocket watch has two full covers, one on the front and one on the back: opening it, therefore, the user can see not only the time but also the gears in motion. The double half hunter model, on the other hand, has a perforated cover on both sides, so that you can see both the time and the mechanical movements of the instrument without having to open it.
Cheap but not cheap, perfect for a first approach to the world of pocket watches or for a special gift. Driven by a mechanical movement with manual winding and sold complete with chain.