Key, watch key

Watch key made of Pinchbeck, a cheap alloy made to look like gold. The key is set with mottled pink and grey agate in an oval frame. At the top and bottom are mouldings in the form of clenched fists.

18th century gentlemen did not display their watches, but rather kept them in little pockets, or fobs, on the front of their breeches. (The word fob is apparently derived from the old German fobke or fuppe for pocket.)

What was on show was the ribbon, leather string, or sometimes chain, attached to the watch, often adorned with a watch key and seal or other trinkets that are very difficult to make out in paintings and fashion plates. There is a large number of watch keys and seals in the collection of the Museum of London but unfortunately the actual strings have not survived.