pocket watch dials

Pocket watch dials come in different materials and styles.

Below is information on the different types of pocket watch dials.

dial materials

metal

Painted metal pocket watch dial.
Metal dial with painted signature & hour indexes

​Metal is one of the two most common materials used on pocket watch dials.  It is a thin piece of metal, usually painted with numeric hour markers and sometimes other, more elaborate details.  Some dials were engraved and embellished with hand-chased designs.

Antique and vintage dials will oftentimes become oxidized.  Some collectors choose to have these dials refinished, or repainted, while others choose to leave them all-original.

enamel

Porcelain-enamel pocket watch dial.
Single-sunk grand feu enamel dial with red five minute track

​The other common material used on pocket watch dials is metal coated with enamel (not porcelain or ceramic).

Enamel dials (a.k.a. porcelain-enamel dials) are often mislabeled as porcelain.  Porcelain is made from firing Kaolin to produce a hard, translucent pottery.  Enamel is made from firing ground enamel powder (essentially ground glass) onto a metal backing.

Once fired, the enamel is then polished and painted with any desired detailing.  It is then fired again, producing an attractive, finished dial.

These dials can be referred to as either porcelain-enamel, or just enamel, dials.  Enamel dials are a labor-intensive process that are an art in itself.

Enamel can chip, crack, or craze.  Fine antique and vintage dials are sought after by collectors and should be preserved.

dial types

flat

Flat, painted metal dial on a vintage Juvenia dress pocket watch with date complication.
Flat pocket watch dial

single sunk

Single sunk dial on a vintage Elgin pocket watch.
Single-sunk pocket watch dial

double sunk

Double sunk pocket watch dial on an Illinois pocket watch.
Double-sunk pocket watch dial

minute track styles

PLAIN / HASH MARKS

Plain, hash mark style pocket watch minute track.
Plain / Hash mark minute track

PLAIN / RING​

Plain, ring-style pocket watch minute track.
Plain / Ring minute track

PLAIN / DOTS

Plain, dot-style pocket watch minute track.
Plain / Dot minute track

BLACK 5-MINUTE / RING

Black 5-minute, ring-style pocket watch minute track.
Black 5-minute / Ring minute track

RED 5-MINUTE / HASH MARKS

Red 5-minute, hash mark-style pocket watch minute track.
Red 5-minute / Hash mark minute track

NO MINUTE TRACK

Pocket watch dial with no minute track.
No minute track

crystal types

ACRYLIC / PLASTIC CRYSTAL

Heavily abraded, plastic pocket watch crystal.
Acrylic / Plastic crystal

​Plastic crystals were commonly used on antique and vintage pocket watches.  They are cheap, lightweight and somewhat durable, but scratch very easily.  Scratches can sometimes be polished out.

GLASS CRYSTAL

Abrasions along the faceted edge of this glass pocket watch crystal.
Glass crystal

​Glass crystals are more scratch-resistant than plastic crystals, but less scratch resistant than sapphire crystals.

SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL

​Synthetic sapphire crystals, made via the flame fusion process, are the most durable, and scratch resistant, watch crystals to date.
All photos courtesy of Scott Papper, GIA GG, AJP, CMA (NAJA)