Iris Pocket Watch Key

The History:

This Victorian pocket watch winding key from the late 1800s features an oval design with hand embossed and engraved floral and scroll work details. This little key would have originally been used to manually wind and keep your pocket watch in time. This piece was originally made and sourced in England. 

 

 

THE HISTORY:

The very first pocket watches, since their creation in the 16th century and up until the third quarter of the 19th century, had key-wind and key-set movements. A watch key was necessary to wind the watch to keep and set the time. For convenience, these keys were often attached to a man's pocket watch chain to have close by in order to keep proper and correct time. And, in true Victorian fashion, these little functional pieces were often elaborately adorned with gemstones, engravings, or meaningful sentiments. Winding keys became less relevant at the onset of the Industrial Revolution when clock construction became more self-reliant and didn't constantly require manual maintenance.