Boys' Jewelry: Pocket Watches


Figure 1.--This fairly young American boy about 1880 wears a kneespants suit with a rather adult-looking jacket. He has been given a pocket watch, note the watch fob. He looks to be about 7-years old.

This is a new topic for HBC and we are just beginning to acquire information on it. Watches were developed from early clocks in the late 15th century. These early watches, however, were bulky and could not be carried in pockets and they were not very accuate. Pocket watches appeared in the mid-17th century. The key technical developments making the modern watch accurate and feasible did not come together until the befginning of the 18th century. Mass manufacturing processes were developed in the mid-19th century. HBC needs to refine the manufacturing dates as they would help to date images. Obviously you would not give an expensive hand-made watch to a small child. HBC believes that about the 1880s that pocket watches began to appear at prices that they may have been given to children. They were the preferred time piece of men until wrist watches began to replace them in the 1920s. Boys would not receicve them, however, until they were outfitted in their first adult-looking suit.

New Topic

This is a new topic for HBC and we are just beginning to acquire information on it. HBC incourages readers knowledgeable about clocks and watches to submit information to help HBC better understand the use of pocket watches by boys. In particular we need to know when pocket watches began to be mass produced and prices began to fall.

Watch History

Watches were developed from early clocks in the late 15th century. These early watches, however, were bulky and could not be carried in pockets and they were not very accuate. Pocket watches appeared in the mid-17th century. The key technical developments making the modern watch accurate and feasible did not come together until the beginning of the 18th century. Mass manufacturing processes were developed in the mid-19th century. HBC needs to refine the manufacturing dates as they would help to date images.

Fobs

Of course only the watch fob is visible in most old photographs. HBC assumes that the presence of a fob means that the child has a pocket watch. We can not, however, be sure of this. Perhaps younger children were given fobs before actual watches. HBC needs to pursue this. We notice one portrait of an American boy, Charles Banthrop who has pulled out his watch and is looking at it.

Chronology

We begin to see more fobs in the 1890s. A good example is the Attenberry boys in the 1890s. This may be due to appearance of inexpensive pocket watches. And pocket watches had not yet been invented.

Conventions

Obviously you would not give an expensive hand-made watch to a small child. HBC believes that about the 1880s that pocket watches began to appear at prices that they may have been given to children. They were the preferred time piece of men until wrist watches began to replace them in the 1920s.

Clothes

Boys would not receicve them, however, until they were outfitted in their first adult-looking suit. Boys wearing smocks, tunics, and Fauntleroy suits--even sailor suits would not wear pocket watches. It was not until a boy was deemed ready for his forst adult-looking suit that he would get his first pocket watch. Even mass-produced watches were not cheap in the 19th century. Any boy wearing a pocket watch can be assumed to come from, an affluent family. Most boys would not get their first pocjet watch until they were old enough for long trousers. Quite a number of boys wearing kneepants, however did get them--as long as the jacket had adult styling. The appropriate age for this varied from family to family and among countries.

Age

The age at which boys got a pocket watch varied over time, primarily a finction of the falling prices for the watches. It also was affected by a social class. More affluent families might be willing to splurge and boy a boy a watch at an early age. A very important factor, however, was the familiy's attitude toward boys fashions. Families who felt that juvenile styling was suitable for a boy would delay the purchase of a piocket watch--paergaps in to aboys' teens. Those that felt that a boy should have an adult-styled suit at a fairly young age, perhaps as young as 6-7 years of age.






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Created: December 29, 2000
Last updated: 10:08 PM 3/9/2009