Hunter vs Open Face Pocket Watch: The Difference

Pocket watches come in three main styles, and the difference is all in the case: whether a metal cover protects the glass, and how much of the dial you can see without opening it.

Open face

An open face watch has no cover over the crystal. The dial is always visible.

• The crown (winding stem) sits at 12 o'clock.
• The small seconds dial, if there is one, sits at 6 o'clock, directly below.
• Quick to read — just glance at it.
• More exposed: the crystal can scratch or crack.

Full hunter

A hunter (or full hunter) has a hinged metal lid covering the crystal. Press the crown and the lid springs open.

• The crown sits at 3 o'clock, so the watch is held sideways in the hand to open it, the lid swinging up like a book cover.
• The small seconds dial sits at 9 o'clock, or at 6 on some later watches.
• Fully protected: the cover takes the knocks.
• The lid is a canvas for engraving — initials, monograms, scenes.

The name comes from hunting: gentlemen on horseback needed a watch that would survive a fall or a branch.

Half hunter

A half hunter (or demi-hunter) is a compromise: the cover has a small window in the middle, often with numerals around it, so the hands can be read without opening the lid. Elegant and practical, and popular from the late 1800s.

Many modern decorative watches have openwork covers — lids cut away into gears, numerals or patterns so the dial half shows through. They follow the same idea as the half hunter.

Railroad watches

In the 1890s, after a deadly train collision blamed partly on an unreliable watch, American railways set strict standards for their staff's watches. Railroad-grade watches had to be open face, with the crown at 12, highly accurate, and set using a lever rather than the crown so they could not be knocked out of time by accident. Open face watches have been associated with precision and practicality ever since.

Which is more formal?

Both are correct with formal wear. The full hunter is the more traditional and ceremonial — the classic for weddings and heirlooms. The open face is cleaner and more practical. A half hunter or openwork cover sits between, with a little more personality.

Which should you choose?

Mechanical or quartz

Separately from the case style, a pocket watch can be mechanical — wound by hand — or quartz, powered by a battery and needing no winding at all. Most vintage watches are mechanical; most modern decorative ones are quartz. How to wind a pocket watch · How to wear a pocket watch.