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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watches · Case

Conversion Watches

Partially verified

Pocket watch movements re-cased with wire lugs and a strap so they can be worn on the wrist, a common practice during the transition from pocket to wrist wear.

Mechanism

The movement itself is unchanged from its original pocket-watch form; only the case is adapted for wrist wear.

Typical characteristics

  • Wire lugs soldered or fitted to a pocket-watch-style case
  • Pocket-watch dial layout retained (seconds often at 6, crown often at 3 after rotation)
  • Case diameter typically larger than a purpose-built early wristwatch

Identification characteristics

  • Dial layout inconsistent with a purpose-built wristwatch (e.g. seconds not at 6 relative to a repositioned crown)
  • Solder marks or replacement case backs where lugs were added

Collector significance

A key transitional category linking pocket watch and wristwatch history, and a caution against assuming all early wristwatches were purpose-built.

Known variations

  • Factory conversion
  • Aftermarket (trade) conversion

Related photographs

Vintage Elgin National Watch Company Pocket Watch, Open Face, 17 Jewels, Circa 1920 (11504662974)
Vintage Elgin National Watch Company Pocket Watch, Open Face, 17 Jewels, Circa 1920 (11504662974) — Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Vintage Open Face Pocket Watch, Key Wound, Bouitte & Co., Geneva (14018736813)
Vintage Open Face Pocket Watch, Key Wound, Bouitte & Co., Geneva (14018736813) — Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Vintage New York Standard Watch Co. Open Face Pocket Watch, Size 18, Pendant Wind &Set (14738869416)
Vintage New York Standard Watch Co. Open Face Pocket Watch, Size 18, Pendant Wind &Set (14738869416) — Joe Haupt from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.

Sources & references

  1. General horological surveys on the pocket-to-wrist transition

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.