Cigar cutter watch fob

A cigar cutter watch fob is a pendant that is attached to the opposite side of a chain as a pocket watch. It is used as decoration and to cleanly cut the end of a cigar so it burns evenly.

Both men’s and women’s watches were commonly attached to decorative fobs. However, because women were discouraged from smoking in public,[1] it was primarily men who wore the cigar cutter variety. The men's pocket watch was most ordinarily carried in a watch pocket (still seen today in some suit vests and most jeans[2]). It was almost always attached to a chain to secure the pocket watch against falling or theft while still having it readily available. Fobs at the ends of these chains became prevalent for various reasons, one of which was to hold a cigar cutter for men to prepare their cigars for smoking.[3] The cigar cutter trimmed the end of the cigar with a knife blade, scissors or slicer and/or poked a hole with a sharp needle-like piercer.[4]

The watch fob version of the cigar cutter falls into similar categories as those of the larger handheld or countertop cigar cutters.

• Guillotine (straight cut/single or double blades)
• Punch cut or piercer
• Wedge cut (a.k.a. notch cut, cat's eye, V cut, English cut)[4]

What separates cigar cutter watch fobs from any other cigar cutters are their size. First, a cigar cutter fob must fit on the end of chain or leather strap and second, it needs to have a ring or small hole to attach it to that chain or strap. The fob was ordinarily left to dangle on the outside of the vest or trouser pocket to be worn as a status symbol[5] and/or to make it easier to grasp and retrieve the watch.

As pocket watches proliferated, cigar cutter watch fobs frequently became a status symbol. Elaborate workmanship with intricate carvings, precious gems, and a wide diversity of design categories gives them a miniaturized and mechanized beauty that outweighs their function. Many such fobs have a sense of whimsy and are considered fine art pieces, created to showcase their craftsman's imagination and ingenuity.[6] They were made of range from fine metals like gold, silver and platinum, while more affordable versions were forged of baser metals like brass, copper and steel.[7]

The use of pocket watches has all but disappeared but there is still a lively marketplace for discerning collectors of both watches and cigar cutter watch fobs.