# How to wear a pocket watch?



## Dan the Man (Sep 21, 2002)

In my continued attempt to consciously dress "old fashioned" I am about to purchase a pocket watch. Almost all that I have looked at have a hook or clip-like device on one end of the chain and the pocket watch on the other. Where is the appropriate place to attach the clip? How is it worn/should it be worn when not wearing a vest?


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Dan the Man:

From the Watch Chapter of The Encyclopedia of Men's Clothes:

The pocket watch usually has a short chain or ribbon connecting it and at the other end a fob, which was originally a seal used to seal letters and documents. 

The watch and/or fob could be placed in pockets with the chain draped between. This practice of wearing a chain or ribbon (connecting the watch and fob) worn across the front of a vest became an essential part of Victorian dress, and was called an Albert, after the Prince consort (husband of Queen Victoria). 

This classic look is accomplished by placing the watch in one of the front pockets of a vest and running the chain through the buttonhole that is at the same level as the top of the opposing pockets, and then into a pocket on the opposite side. The chain should sag equally on both sides of the button. You can attach a Phi Beta Kappa key to the chain if appropriate! 

You can also wear a pocket watch in the breast pocket of a suit or sports jacket and insert the fob though the buttonhole on the lapel. 

Or you can wear it in a side pocket of your trousers and keep the fob in the Fob Pocket, which is a small pocket at the front waistline of trousers or on a vest front designed to hold a watch or fob.

Andy


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## Dan the Man (Sep 21, 2002)

I have seen what you mean. Usually what I have seen is one with a knife connected to the other end. So if it comes with just a hook or clip on the end that means I am supposed to hook something to it to put in the other pocket?


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:
> You can also wear a pocket watch in the breast pocket of a suit or sports jacket and insert the fob though the buttonhole on the lapel.


This is how I sport mine.


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## eromlignod (Nov 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Dan the Man_
> 
> In my continued attempt to consciously dress "old fashioned" I am about to purchase a pocket watch. Almost all that I have looked at have a hook or clip-like device on one end of the chain and the pocket watch on the other. Where is the appropriate place to attach the clip? How is it worn/should it be worn when not wearing a vest?


I wore pocket watches for years. There are different types of fobs and different types of pockets.

The most common type of chain simply has a swivel for the watch at one end and a big spring snap at the other.










These are to wear with trousers. Most dress trousers don't have a watch pocket anymore, so you must simply attach the spring snap to a belt loop and let the watch hang down into your pocket. You can either attach it to the loop directly above the pocket, or some people prefer to attach it to the next one over (toward the fly) and let it drape back. The latter case is inadvisable as it will cause undue wear to the lower pocket opening from rubbing (been there, done that). With either method you have to be very careful not to snag it on things as you pass by (particularly doorknobs).

Some trousers have a watch pocket up along the waistband just to the left of your right hand pocket. It is invisible, so some of your trousers may actually have it and you never knew. In this case the chain is attached to a belt loop and then draped in front over to the pocket. Levi's jeans have a pocket for this purpose. I have even seen a modern pair of bib overalls that have this pocket (at the waistband, not in the bib).

There are also longer versions of this type of chain that can be attached to a penknife at one end and draped from one vest pocket to the other. Some Victorian versions even attach in the middle.

The second most common type of chain has the watch swivel, a "tee" end that fits into a button hole and a short extension to add a small bauble that hangs from the buttonhole.

These are usually for use with a vest. You can hang anything from an elk's tooth to a family crest. Mine has a Credit Suisse 1g bullion piece. I suppose you could also hang one of these from your lapel to your jacket breast pocket as I have seen gay antique dealers do, but then where would you put your monocle?

If you want to go "vintage" there are all sorts of elaborate styles.










Don
Kansas City


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## eromlignod (Nov 23, 2005)

I thought I might just add one more note about actually using the watch.

The watch should always be placed in the pocket so that the face of the watch is inward, toward your body. When you pull it out to tell time, you grasp the bow (loop) at the top with your thumb and forefinger, tilting the watch away from your body and facing it upwards, resting its back against the other three fingers of your right hand.

If the watch has a closed face it's a little more tricky. You pull it out by the bow as before, but now the remaining fingers must curl under the bottom of the watch to support it as you press down on the winding knob (or sometimes a button in the middle of the knob) to make the case pop open. The cover will spring open and rest against the three fingertips. When you are ready to put it back (_and this is important!_) you must press the button with the thumb and simultaneously close the case with your fingers, then release it. Never simply "snap" it closed by mashing it together--the strike will wear out, especially if the watch is made of a precious metal. It takes some practice, but you should eventually be able to whip it out, pop it open, read the time, and close and insert it all in one smooth motion.

Don
Kansas City


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## Dan the Man (Sep 21, 2002)

Thanks for the help. Seems like most of the ones I've been seeing are made to go straight from the belt loop into the pocket.


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## LabelKing (Sep 3, 2002)

The long chain in which you anchor the watch in the opposite vest pocket with say, a knife or fob, is called a Double Albert.

*"In truth, I am not altogether wrong to consider dandyism a form of religion."

Charles Baudelaire*


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## Boulevardier (Aug 26, 2003)

And there are many ways to decorate your vested belly with a variety of chains.


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## Mr. Knightly (Sep 1, 2005)

Every pair of Ralph's pants I've ever owned had a watch pocket.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.


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