Swiss Pocket Watch

Swiss pocket watches have long set the standard in excellence in the world of watch making. They have been the pioneers of this industry and are the most reliable of pocket watch producers. It was during the 1800′s when the skill and talent of Swiss watch makers became the gold standard in the whole of Europe. But this was not always the case, the journey of how the Swiss became watch making royalty mainly started because of the American industrial revolution where the beauty of the assembly line made it possible to produce large numbers of pocket watches in the shortest time possible and with a lot less cost. This almost collapsed the watch making industry as the Americans nearly had a monopoly of the entire market. To survive the Swiss made their watches of the best quality and reliability.

Swiss watches have then been an important accessory for men and women alike and they were not only used as time pieces but were considered precious jewelries themselves. They can often catch the attention of onlookers and many marvel at their innate elegance. Precision and accuracy became their main priority over cost and this has allowed them to make the brilliant pieces that are sometimes encrusted with gems and other precious metals. These non abrasive and highly stable materials made the business of time keeping accurate and they were often only about a minute off. Other means to make telling the time standardized was by adding adjustments and invention on how the clocks movements were made.

There are generally 4 ways on which to wind a pocket watch:

1. The key wind or key set movement, which would entail a key to wind the watch and to also set the time accordingly. The back of the watch case would be opened and the key would be used to set the hands via the setting arbor.

2. Crown wind or crown set movements, the crown is placed at the 3 o’ clock side of the watch and this would be gently pulled out to set the time. This method of setting the time is used by almost all types of watches even up to the present day.

3. Crown wind or pin set or nail set movement, a pin would be used to set the time by depressing it and then releasing it when the time has been properly set. It was also known as the nail set because often times, a finger nail would be used to set the time.

4. Crown wind or lever set movement; this became a staple for all who worked in the railroad company as they made predicting the schedule for the arrival of trains accurate. A lever would be pulled out which made setting the time by using the crown wind possible. After the time is set, the lever would be put back. This was preferred as the lever made it almost impossible to accidentally reset the time.

Even up to this very day, a Swiss pocket watch is not only a time piece to last the ages but is also essentially a beautiful work of art. They take pride in declaring that almost all of their watches are handmade and of the best quality of materials. Swiss watches are seen all over the world and can be purchased at reasonable prices.