The Timeless Appeal of Pocket Watches- By: Cris Robertson

Description : If you consult Wikipedia, you will learn that pocket watches are anachronistic, that they have gone out of style and fallen out of favor with the public. The reasons cited for the declining popularity include the lack of a place to carry one and the fact that most modern men and women carry other time-keeping devices at their waist, which is where the pocket watch is meant to be carried.

In fact, while pocket watches may have given way to wrist watches as the most common timepiece carried or worn by modern men and women, they have never lost their appeal to those who truly appreciate style and quality. Many a young man owns and treasures his grandfather's watch - which is quite often still in excellent repair because of the typical quality of antique watches.

Those who love them but weren't lucky enough to inherit one from dad or grandpa may find themselves shelling out a hefty amount if they try to buy one. On auction sites, it's not unusual for top quality antique pocket watches in good working order to fetch prices in the four to five figure range - high five figures if the watch is a Cartier or another of the better-known watchmakers or jewelers. If you're willing to accept a piece that shows obvious wear or is not working, you can sometimes find antique ones for sale in the $100 to $500 price range.

Luckily, there are manufacturers who continue to make pocket watches, in both vintage and modern styles. Whether you're searching for a replica antique watch or a thoroughly modern new watch from one of today's top manufacturers, you'll find them available online at affordable prices. In fact, you can even find wholesale pocket watches if you shop around carefully.

Antique Pocket Watch Styles

There are two basic types of these kinds of watches - open face watches and hunter case watches. The difference is as obvious as their names. Open face pocket watches have no protective cover over the watch face. Hunter case watches, on the other hand, are set into a case with a hinged cover that's meant to protect the watch crystal from damage.

Some of the most beautiful watches feature intricate engraving created by skilled craftsmen. Victorian watches often carried detailed filigree engraving and etching with flowers, coats of arms, birds and other motifs. Many are engraved both front and back, and feature an area on the inside of the case where you can have a personal message, commemoration or name engraved.

Other popular styles of these kinds of watches bear enameled coats of arms or emblems, including emblems of the branches of the armed services.

While pocket watches tend to be designed with the masculine in mind - women's watches were more often pendant watches, designed to be worn on a chain or a brooch - there are some lighter, more feminine styles of antique watches available as well.

Antique and vintage style watches for the pocket have a timeless appeal that never goes out of fashion. If you're looking for a timepiece that makes a statement - or to give as a very special gift - a pocket watch may be exactly what you're looking for.

Article Source : http://www.look4articles.com/

Author Resource : Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the world's MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.

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