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Time has usually been a valued component, and now becomes a valuable part for those that collect antique gold pocket watches. 

The history of pocket watches extends back to the mid 1400’s, evidenced by a letter from an Italian clockmaker to a nobleman.  In the document, the noble is offered what was termed as a pocket clock by the clockmaker.  A businessperson of German descent was making pocket watches in 1524 in England using a revolutionary spring technology ; clock faces that exhibited just one hand to indicate the hour now took the place of using the sun to tell time.  Time may be estimated within an hour or so of the real time.  The minute hand was added much later in the late 1600’s when technology sophisticated farther ; enabling wearers of the watches to gauge time within mins of the particular time.  As technology permitted more definitive time gauging, more elaborations were added to meet a growing interest in the watches. 

Portable watches, as they were called in the beginning, were first assembled of steel by blacksmiths and locksmiths as they were accustomed to working with the alloy.  Over time, other more suitable substances were used instead, for example brass, silver and gold.  Jewels and delicate scroll work were added to embellish some of the watches to make them more attractive for the wealthy.  Antique gold pocket watches, especially those with jewels, are especially valuable for collectors because of these elaborations. 

Waltham, Elgin, Hamilton, Ball and Illinois are some of the early makers of pocket watches whose products are among those valued the highest.  Going back to the mid 1800’s and of stunning design, many of these watches are sought after as collectibles.  Another popular collector type of pocket watch is a series called Railroad watches.  These timepieces were employed by train engineers in vital time keeping schedules for train arrivals and departures.  The accuracy of the watches were more exactly accurate than most, as any variance of time quicker or slower could mean sad eventualities for two trains on one track.  As with any antique, the value of the item depends on how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. 

The prize of many collectors is antique gold pocket watches, with histories that go back almost 150 years.  Frequently owned by the well to do in society, these watchs would likely have fantastic stories if they were only able to tell more than time.