ROYAL LONDON

ROYAL LONDON

A Half Hunter watch has a lid with a small round glazed window, the time can be seen when the lid is closed.

A Full Hunter has a protective lid that covers the watch face.

While a Double Hunter is where the watch has two lids covering both back and front, the back lid opens so that movement can be seen.

The history of the pocket watch.

The first pocket watch was invented by Peter Henlein in 1510 in Nuremberg, Germany. The Italians were producing clocks small enough to be worn on the person by the early 16th century. A pocket watch became a symbol of wealth and status eventhough the watches of the 16th and 17th century were not terribly reliable but were beautiful ornaments! Cases and dials were painstakingly hand crafted with opulent French designs whilst English,German and Dutch designs were more sedate. As technical advances were made, designs simplified and the watch's image changed from an unreliable, to a reliable time keeper. In the 18th century, pocket watches continued to evolve. Jewels were used as bearings, sometimes diamonds, but as you can imagine, this made the pocket watch very expensive. Oil was used to lubricte and make the movement smooth. In the second half of the 18th centruy, pocket watches were produced with three hands, thus making telling the time even more accurate. During the 1st world war, wrist watches were preferred as they were easier to wear however, the pocket watch was still worn with the 3 piece suit in the 1950's. Up until the middle of the 19th century, watches were individually made and were costly then eventually, with American developments in mechanized watch production, the price of a pocket watch would become cheaper.

Information on pocket watches.

An open face is a pocket watch without a lid. The watch face is always visable.

A Full Hunter has a protective lid that can be opened to reveal the watch face.

A Half Hunter pocket watch has a lid with a small round glazed window. The time can be seen when the lid is closed.

A Double Hunter has Two lids covering both the back and front of the pocket watch. The movement can be seen in this design.