Personalised Pocket Watches

Precision Engraving

At Engravers Guild of London, we pride ourselves on offering the best quality engraving in the industry.

All of our personalised pocket watches are finished with diamond-tipped machine engraving cutters. Unlike many other engravers, we cut the full letter in the metal, as opposed to just the outline, ensuring an impression that will keep its clarity indefinitely.

Exquisite Presentation

It’s the little details that make the difference with a gift from Engravers Guild of London.

As well as being beautifully presented in signature packaging, each personalised pocket watch is delivered with a custom gift card and either woven silk lining or custom tissue paper.

Every aspect of the gift experience is designed to create a lasting moment that is special for years to come.

Hunter Personalised Pocket Watch

A hunter personalised pocket watch is the most common type of model. More robust than an open-faced pocket watch, the hunter timepiece is characterised by a metal casing with spring-hinged covers to protect the movement, crystal and dial inside.

The design was developed in Britain for gentlemen to carry while hunting foxes on horseback. The rigour of a hunt imposed substantial wear and tear on the timepieces and so the metal casing was introduced to protect against the glass breaking and debris scratching the surface. Often made with the lid hinges at the 9 o’ clock position, this was to be convenient for riders to open the watch with one hand while still holding the reins with the other.

A double hunter personalised pocket watch is where the cover can be opened on the front and the back.

Half-Hunter Engraved Pocket Watch

Later designs to the hunter pocket watch incorporated a small round hole or glass panel in the cover of the case so that the hour and second hand could be visible without needing to open the cover. Often embellishing these cases with marking for the positions of the hours (as they would be on a dial), these personalised pocket watches offered a compromise between accessibility and durability. This style became known as the half-hunter.

While this model of timepiece is most frequently referred to as a hunter personalised pocket watch, they can also be called a “savonnette”, which originate from the French word “savon” (soap) because of its similarity in shape to a circular bar of soap.

Open Face Pocket Watch

An open face engraved pocket watch is where there is no protective casing on either the front or back of the timepiece, thereby exposing the dial and movement. This style of pocket watch was prevalent during the early Victorian period when it started to become more common for gentleman to carry about their person a devise by which they could follow the time. Typically, the chain hangs from a pendant fastening at the 12 o’ clock position.

Often being more delicate than hunter pocket watches, open faced timepieces were designed to be showcased as sartorial accessories which incorporated intricate and elaborate details.

Pre-16th Century

One of the first recorded mentions of a personalised pocket watch was in 1462 in renaissance Italy. A letter from a clock maker to an aristocrat includes reference to a “pocket clock” that will be “better than the one belonging to the Duke of Modena”.

In the latter past of the 15th century, technology had developed to the extent that horological instruments did not need to be powered by a series of falling weights. New mechanics instead relied on spring devices which could be made small enough to wear about the person. Although large by today’s standards, these were considered neat and portable and often resembled an egg shape when the protective casing had been added to the engraved pocket watch case.

16th Century

The 16th century heralded a new age where timepieces were able to be worn about the person for the fist time in history. Resembling more of a small clock than a watch as we know them today, these “clock-watches” were usually fastened to clothing or hung around the neck on a chain.

Their designed featured on a heavy drum shaped brass cylinder which was about a dozen centimetres in diameter, around which a single hour hand would turn. The movement, meanwhile, was fashioned out of iron or steel and held together by a series of metal wedges which also supported a number of striking mechanisms.

While these were often simply embellished at the beginning of the century, designs became increasingly elaborate and were the early forebears of today’s personalised pocket watch. Engravings and piercings were made on the protective cases (the dials were not covered by glass), and later there was a trend for unusually shaped timepieces such as animals, household items and even “death skulls”.

17th Century

Charles II of England is credited with the emergence of the new style to wear timepieces in pockets as opposed to on chains hanging from the neck (though ladies continued to wear pendant watches till well into the 20th century). In 1675, the English king started to sport waistcoats, and timepieces were developed to fit in the pocket of the wearer.

This meant engraved pocket watch designs had to be more streamlined so as to be more easily concealed, and glass was introduced over the dial to help protect the time – hence becoming the pocket watch as we know them today.

18th Century

The 18th century saw the proliferation of pocket watches to the masses. So expensive were personalised pocket watches before this time that adverts regularly ran in British newspapers offering rewards of up to five guineas for information pertaining to the recovery of a stolen timepiece – that is approximately £1,250 in today’s money. However, in the latter part of the 1700s, engraved pocket watches became more attainable and cheap watches (albeit still handmade) were being sold to sailors with colourful nautical illustrations.

The most significant development in the century, though, was the introduction of the cylinder escapement movement. This superseded the verge escapement which did not house any jewels at the point of contact within the movement and so resulted in considerable friction – which often resulted in the best timepieces gaining or losing an hour every day. The cylinder escapement, however, was incorporated by the British pocket watch maker George Graham and kept much more accurate time.

19th Century

The 1800s were perhaps the Golden Age of the personalised pocket watch. New technology in the form of the lever escapement enabled the timepieces to keep accuracy within one minute per day. This became almost universal in pocket watches from 1820 and continues to be the most common form of mechanical movement to this day. The advent of steam trains also required smarter timekeeping so as to mange national timetables.

The 19th century also saw the dawn of mass production in the new American watch industry. The improvement of manufacturing process in Europe were adopted by the American Watch Company so that they could produce 50,000 dependable timepieces per annum. This achievement drove the Swiss manufacturers out of mass produced timepieces and pushed them into more precision and high-value pocket watches instead.

20th Century

The 20th century witnessed the demise of the pocket watch as a common accessory. In World War I a new style was introduced for soldiers fighting on the front line known as “trench watches”. These were designed to be less cumbersome than the traditional personalised pocket watch which were liable to be caught up on other things.

After the Great War, watches on straps and fixed to the wrist became almost instantly ubiquitous. While enjoying somewhat of a small renaissance in the 1970s when pocket watches were often accessorised with three-piece suits, the engraved pocket watch became a largely commemorative item for special occasions by the end of the century.

Alpine Engraved Pocket Watch

At Engravers Guild of London we take great care in sourcing and curating beautiful engraved gifts. We believe a personalised gift is more than the cost of the item, but it is about the thought, consideration and individual touch that it is given.

Our personalised pocket watch collection showcases some of the most beautiful timepieces available online, and the Alpine selection is the perfect choice for a cheap pocket watch.

Starting from £24.95, the Alpine pocket watch boasts a beautiful finish, a precision quartz movement and luxury steel chain. A clear open face and crisp detailing on the dial make this the most popular engraved pocket watch from Engravers Guild and has generated scores of positive reviews.

Mount Royal Pocket Watches

Personalised pocket watches from Mount Royal offer superlative quality at wonderful value. A comprehensive range covering half-hunter, double-hunter, mechanical and quartz movements, Mount Royal is one of the most respected names in the market for distinguished engraved pocket watches.

The brand has developed and refined the designs to deliver a “customer favourite”, with the Double Mechanical Hunter and Half-Hunter Window pieces being the most highly sought. The flawless finish of the pocket watches is a perfect stage for our diamond-tipped cutters to make a pleasing engraving.

Woodford Personalised Pocket Watch

Woodford was founded in 1860 and has established itself as one of the world’s leading suppliers of personalised pocket watches in the UK. Offering perhaps the most comprehensive range of timepieces of any manufacturer, the brand has built a reputation for classic engraved pocket watches that last for very many years.

Perhaps the most popular piece in their collection, the Woodford Skeleton pocket watch is resplendent in its finish and sits well with any wedding suit for a best man, groom or usher.

Jean Pierre Pocket Watches

A personalised pocket watch from Jean Pierre stands above all other timepieces. Made in Switzerland to exacting standards, the precision engineered piece exudes beautiful craftsmanship. The skeleton case leaves the full movement on display, showcasing the 17 jewel mechanism.

Delivered in a handsome leather presentation case, the Jean Pierre engraved pocket watch is an item that will delight when opened and be something that is passed through the generations as a very special piece of family history.