Chain & Chatelaine Accoutrements
Chain and chatelaine accoutrements are personal objects designed to be suspended from chains worn on the body. These objects formed part of the equipment carried by individuals during daily life in the nineteenth century.
Watch chains worn from the waistcoat and chatelaines worn at the waist allowed small instruments and personal objects to be carried in a practical and organised manner.
Watch Chains
Watch chains were worn from the waistcoat and attached to pocket watches carried within the watch pocket. These chains frequently carried additional objects such as seals, watch keys and small personal instruments.
Such objects formed part of the personal equipment carried by gentlemen during the nineteenth century.
Chatelaines
Chatelaines were decorative clasps worn at the waist from which chains were suspended. These chains carried useful instruments such as scissors, keys, seals and other small tools.
Chatelaines allowed personal equipment to be carried conveniently while also forming decorative objects in their own right.
Suspended Instruments
The objects attached to watch chains and chatelaines could include seals, keys, scent bottles, scissors and other miniature instruments. These items combined practical function with skilled craftsmanship.
Produced by specialist craftsmen, these small objects formed an important part of the material culture of personal equipment.
Craft and Materials
Chain and chatelaine accoutrements were often produced using materials such as silver, gold and other durable materials. The craftsmanship involved in their production allowed these objects to combine practical function with decorative refinement.
The Leuchars Tradition
The Leuchars firm became associated with fitted cases and personal equipment designed for travel and private life. Many of the small instruments carried on chains or chatelaines formed part of the wider culture of personal objects contained within such cases.
Leuchars London ® continues the traditions associated with the historic craft of case making and personal equipment.
