A fob is attached to the chain of a gentleman’s watch and is kept in a little pocket on the bearer (waistband) of his trousers called the watchpocket (which is also called a fob pocket). The fob is a ribbon with a little loop at the end from which are suspended seals for impressing sealing wax on letters.

The fob is a ribbon with a little loop at the end from which are suspended. A gentleman may also have a watch key on this loop. The watch key was used to wind the watch. The watch fob made it easier to retrieve the watch from the pocket. Eventually it became the fashion to have two watch fobs– one actually attached to the watch and another on the other side merely as decoration.