Pocket Watches · Watch
Braille smartwatch, Dot Watch, designed by Yeongkyu Yoo of Dot Inc. and cloundandco.
- Maker / attribution
- Yeongkyu Yoo (designer)
- Date
- 2017
- Historical period
- Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
- Country of origin
- Korea
- Place
- Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
- Object type
- Watch
- Dimensions
- Length: 25 cm; Diameter: 4.3 cm; Height: 1.25 cm
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- FE.114:1,2-2026
- Credit line
- Given by Yeongkyu Yoo
- Catalogue title (original)
- Smart Braille Watch
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number FE.114:1,2-2026), this is a watch by Yeongkyu Yoo, made in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, dated 2017. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: Length: 25 cm; Diameter: 4.3 cm; Height: 1.25 cm. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
The source record does not include a narrative description. The structured fields above are reproduced from it.
Historical context
Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.
Pocket watches are now produced mainly as limited editions, unique pieces and heritage reissues, often showcasing traditional crafts such as enamel and engraving.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance
Atlas type guide
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Verge escapementDetached lever escapementFuseeIdentification Centre
