POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Pocket watch, pouch and key

Object No. K971

The watch plays the waltz and the music can be set to play every hour on the hour. The introduction of music box movement into a pocket watch was one of the first significant applications of mechanical music produced with a comb, after its development in 1796. The style of hands is known as ‘moon tip’ and was first created by the famous French watch maker Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1783. The history of pocket watches goes back to the late fifteenth century when mechanisms were made small enough to be hung around the neck. Different designs were developed in subsequent centuries and, as the mechanism became more complex, the number of times the watch needed to be rewound lessened. Originally status symbols of the wealthy, by the time of the industrial revolution they became more common among the middle and working classes who needed to keep track of time for their workday. Their popularity dwindled with the rise of the wristwatch around World War I. Alina Kozlovski, Assistant Curator, November 2021