What's the difference between a fob watch and a pocket watch?

In practice the two overlap, and this heading carries both. A fob watch is the smaller version, hung from a short chain or bow at the waist and most often worn by women. On Sellingantiques, 102 of 141 titles in the category actually say "pocket". The word fob also gets used for the ornament on the end of a chain, which is a different thing again.

Are most of these silver or gold?

Silver appears in 46 titles and gold in 24, so silver is the backbone of the category. Plated cases sit alongside the silver at the lower end. The gold group isn't uniform. It runs from gold-filled and gold-plated cases through 9ct and 12ct up to 14ct, 18ct and 18k, and only the solid high-carat cases reach the top of the range.

How old are they usually?

The dated field spans 1880 to 1950. The 1900s are the fullest single decade at 28 listings, with the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s close behind. Earlier pieces are thinner on the ground: eight in the 1890s, three in the 1880s. Only two reach the 1950s. A handful of titles quote an exact movement year, such as 1883, 1897 or 1924.

Do fob watches come with their chains?

Often. Thirty-nine titles, roughly a quarter, sell the watch together with its chain, usually an albert for a gentleman's watch or an albertina for a small ladies' one. Some of those sets carry a novelty fob as well. Football turns up three times; cricket, a bell, a compass, a horse, a locomotive, Masonic, Egypt, Hereford, Wells and the Folkestone Fishermen each appear once.

Which makers turn up in this category?

Titles name a long tail of case and movement makers rather than a few dominant ones. No single name reaches enough dealers to be called a house of the category. Origin gets named more consistently than makers. Geneva, France, England with Chester and Sheffield assay wording, Glasgow, Coventry, Llandudno and the United States all appear, and Swiss-made shows up in twelve titles.

How many come up for sale each year?

Seventeen dealers have listed in this category on Sellingantiques, and roughly eight pieces come to market a year. That makes it a steady corner rather than a crowded one. Silver pocket watches turn up throughout; repeaters, chronographs and Geneva-signed gold cases surface only occasionally.

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Antique Fob Watches

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A small watch carried on a chain or albert at the waist rather than worn on the wrist, from plain silver pocket watches up to gold cases signed in Geneva.