The history of pocket watches dates back to the early 16th century, and was very popular with our leaders during the freedom struggle of the 19th and early 20th century. While the pocket watches have made way for the wrist watches, there are still a number of manufacturers who continue to make pocket watches. Broadly, there are two types of pocket watches - one with an open face and another that comes in a case which is called a hunter-case.

1. How does a pocket watch work?
The history of pocket watches dates back to the early 16th century, and was very popular with
our leaders during the freedom struggle of the 19th and early 20th century. While the pocket
watches have made way for the wrist watches, there are still a number of manufacturers who
continue to make pocket watches. Broadly, there are two types of pocket watches - one with an
open face and another that comes in a
case which is called a hunter-case.

2. Open-face watches have a winding knob at the top of the dial and the seconds sub-dial at the
bottom. The hunter-case watches have a hinged metal cover that protects the watch from
damage. Most hunter-case watches have the lid hinged at the bottom of the dial.
Pocket watches have five primary mechanical components: a mainspring, a gear train, a
balance wheel, an escapement mechanism and a clock face. The mainspring gets compressed
when a pocket watch is wound, and the mechanical energy produced is used to power the
watch. The mainspring is attached to a cylindrical barrel with the gear teeth.
The barrel’s gear teeth turn the gear train, which consists of four separate wheels attached to
one another with additional gear teeth. The barrel is directly attached to the center wheel, which
is then attached to the escapement mechanism.
The escapement mechanism is a pendulum that rocks back and forth with each rotation of the
center wheel. One end of the escapement mechanism is attached to an upright pin on the
balance wheel. The movement of the escapement mechanism causes the balance wheel to
advance in regular intervals, thereby allowing the watch to keep time.

3. Attached to the balance wheel is a cannon pinion that attaches to the minute wheel. The cannon
pinion also drives a small 12-1 gear reduction mechanism that rotates the hour wheel once for
every 12 rotations of the minute hand. Both the hour and minute wheels contain shafts going
through the clock face and attaching to the watch hands.
Unlike the modern day wristwatches the pocket watches will run on time for between 26 to 30
hours per wind. While a few latest models are known to run for over 44 hours, it is imperative to
give the pocket watch a full wind every day. The best time to wind your watch is in the morning,
making it part of a daily routine and the watch almost always gets wound at the same time each
day.

4. While pocket watches are inherited from forefathers and have a high vintage value depicting a
family history with a design that probably can't be found for sale anywhere.
Inherited watches are irreplaceable and are to be maintained carefully by securing the watch to
a chain and hooking it onto a button or loop ensuring that it is not lost. Inherited vintage pocket
watches may not always work, or may work properly. Ideally it is advised to get it repaired by
renowned people or even better try finding the right person online.
For those inclined to owning a pocket watch and do not have the benefit of inheriting one,
buying a new watch that is likely to work for a long time without trouble is a safe bet. There are
quite a few latest designs in pocket watches, but then they are most likely to be expensive than
used watches.

5. Pocket watches are a surely classy and impressive accessory, however to give the old-
fashioned look keep the watch hooked to a vest or shirt pocket.
Not into pocket watches? You always have the trusty wrist watches to fall back on, which are
also available in various styles and designs.