Watches

The pocket watch, the fob watch and the pendant watch represent the most widespread forms of portable horology before the advent of the wristwatch in the early 20th century. Worn suspended from a chain, slipped into a waistcoat pocket or pinned to a bodice, they were throughout the 19th century both an everyday accessory and a social marker. Their manufacture reached its height between 1830 and 1910, a period during which Swiss houses — Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, IWC — competed with the English makers of Coventry and the French workshops of Besançon for the precision of their movements and the refinement of their cases.

The materials employed reflect the standing of their owner: 800 or 925 silver for everyday pieces, 18-carat gold for bourgeois and aristocratic commissions, silver-plated or rolled-gold metal for a more modest clientele. Cases may be plain, guilloché, hand-chiselled or fired-enamel, some adorned with miniatures painted on ivory. The dials, typically in white enamel with Roman numerals, offer remarkable legibility and constitute one of the most reliable indicators of a piece's period of manufacture.

For a collector, several criteria deserve attention: the presence and legibility of hallmarks and assay marks (essential for authenticating the alloy), the maker's signature on both the movement and the dial — a concordance that provides reassurance as to the integrity of the original ensemble — as well as the condition of the hairspring and jewels. A complete movement, free from excessive cleaning, that is functional or readily restored to working order by a qualified watchmaker commands considerably greater value than a piece whose mechanism has been replaced or altered.