Move over James Bond. Since Peaky Blinders’ launch in 2013, people around the world have coveted the look of actor Cillian Murphy’s brooding character Tommy Shelby. While most have leaned into the haircut, characterized by its aggressively short back and sides, others with a keener eye for detail look to the Birmingham gangster’s accessories – namely, his pocket watch.
A true product of its time, Shelby’s favored timepiece is thought to be a Waltham railroad pocket watch – gold in the earlier series, later shifting to platinum or silver – worn on a chain threaded through his waistcoat.
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With the hotly anticipated release of the spin-off film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, interest in Mr Shelby’s hardware has piqued, with Google reporting a 100 percent increase in searches related to his watch. But, is the pocket watch resurgence really being adopted in day-to-day life?
“There has been a gentle but noticeable return of interest in pocket watches,” says Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, managing director of Fears Watch Company, which launched with a pocket watch in 1846.
“They are never going to be mainstream again, but that is not really the point. What I have noticed is a broader shift in how people are thinking about objects in general. There is a growing appreciation for things that feel more considered, more mechanical, more real in a way. Pocket watches naturally sit within that world.
“Shows like Peaky Blinders have a strong influence because they reintroduce objects like pocket watches in a way that feels natural and character driven, rather than nostalgic for nostalgia’s sake,” Bowman-Scargill continues.
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While many Peaky Blinders enthusiasts may lean more toward costume replicas, the resurgence of pocket watches can be seen in the world of Haute Horlogerie, too. Earlier this year Audemars Piguet celebrated its 150th anniversary with the unveiling of the 150 Heritage Pocket Watch.
The pocket watch pays homage to AP’s long horological history (it was among the first to position wristwatches as functional pieces, as opposed to merely decorative) via a series of time-honored crafts, including Grand Feu enamelling and a hand-crafted chain. It is powered by an ultra-powerful Calibre 1150 movement, and features a Universal Calendar, visible from the caseback. Just two one-of-a-kind pieces were available.
In March, Louis Vuitton also debuted a new pocket watch, the Escale au Mont Fiji. A world away from the traditional stylings of Mr Shelby’s favored timepiece, the latest addition to LV’s Escale Autour du Monde collection depicts Ebisu (a mythical figure in Japanese folklore) sailing a wooden boat in front of a snow-capped peak. Ebisu’s precious cargo? A pile of LV trunks, no less.
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The watch has a manual-winding LFT AU14.03 caliber and each of its 561 components were made by hand – from the Sakura blossoms surrounding the boat to the minute compass that sits at 12 o’clock. It is finished with 60 baguette-cut sapphires.
The highly intricate nature of these new pocket watches speaks to their standing in modern culture, which is more as a style statement than a functional method of keeping the time. According to Emmanuel Breguet, vice president and head of patrimony at Breguet, the pocket watch’s return is more about the novelty of wearing a piece inspired by yesteryear: “[For younger collectors] it is partly about investment but also about enjoyment. For special occasions, they will want to dress up […] so will wear a pocket watch,” he says.
Bowman-Scargill echoes the sentiment. “Nobody really needs a pocket watch anymore in a practical sense, so what you are left with is the experience of using one,” he says. “It becomes more about the ritual of it. Taking it out of a pocket, opening the case, and checking the time in a slightly slower, more deliberate way.”
