Hobbies And Interests
Dials
By 1800, pocket watch dials had assumed what was to become their familiar appearance, with plain white enamel faces and hour chapters in Roman lettering applied in black enamel. (Dials with minutes in Arabic numerals are likely to be late 17th century.) Hands with pierced heart or spade terminals were also widely established. The dials were protected under glass.
Winding Mechanisms
Most watches from the early 1800s were still wound with keys, which had to be inserted into the rear of the mechanism -- a fiddly routine. By the 1840s, this system was being replaced with the winding button or "crown" situated on the top edge of the watch.
Decoration
The finest watches were housed in solid gold or silver cases. Many were decorated with translucent enamels over engraved scenes, with a final layer of transparent enamel keeping their colors vibrant until the present day. Geneva in particular was famous for its exquisite hand-painted vignettes. There was also a fashion among wealthy ladies for novelty shapes such as mandolins, hearts, crosses and even skulls.
Mechanical Novelties
The finest pockets watches often came with added functions. "Repeaters" had a button on the side which, when pressed, rung the last hour and any succeeding quarters. A version was available for the deaf, with a tiny prong which would throb against the fingers. Less practical but just as delightful were musical watches, employing on a miniature scale the same barrel technology as music boxes. For the elite only, there were automata watches enlivened with parkland scenes of moving fountains, lakes and animals.