Chive Pocket Watch (Reloj de bolsillo tipo cebollón)

This object dates from the seventeenth century. It features a glass front and silver casing. The inscription reads "Tompion London," meaning that it was manufactured in England’s capital city. Tompion began producing this kind of pocket watch around 1658 with inventor Robert Hooke. Today, the piece belongs to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia de México. This location could mean that a citizen of the colony of New Spain imported the item. Because it had both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, high volumes of trade flowed through Mexico during this period.