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British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, which includes a museum of clock history. History The BHI was founded in 1858 by a small group of clockmakers, one of whom was Edward Daniel Johnson. Their aim was to unify the British horological industry and trades in the face of large numbers of imports of clocks and watches from abroad. The institute was an immediate success and within a year it had founded its own museum and library; it also began to offer evening classes in clock- and watch-making. The journal of the institute is the ''Horological Journal'', which has been published monthly since September 1858. It is claimed to be the oldest continuously published technical journal in the world. Upton Hall The current premises of the BHI are at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, England. Its prim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turret Clock By John Moore And Sons, Clerkenwell 1875
Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Missile turret, a device for aiming missiles towards their intended target before launch * The Turret, a headland in Antarctica * Trading turret, a specialised telephony key system * Turret (anatomy), an element of the anatomy of a turret sponge * Turret (character), a character in the television series ''Dino-Riders'' * Turret (electronics), an element of a turret board that is soldered to electronic components to complete a circuit layout * Turret (superstructure), an element in the design of turret deck ships * Turret (toolholder), an indexable holder of multiple tools **Turret lathe, a lathe with a turret toolholder * Turret (Hadrian's Wall), one of a series of watchto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elinvar
Elinvar is a nickel–iron–chromium alloy notable for having a modulus of elasticity which does not change much with temperature changes. The name is a contraction of the French ('invariable elasticity'). It was invented by Charles Édouard Guillaume, a Swiss physicist who also invented Invar, another alloy of nickel and iron with very low thermal expansion. Guillaume won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Physics for these discoveries, which shows how important these alloys were for scientific instruments. Elinvar originally consisted of 52% iron, 36% nickel, and 12% chromium. It is almost non-magnetic, and corrosion resistant. Other variations of the Elinvar alloy are * Iron- and cobalt-based ferromagnetic Elinvar alloy * Manganese- and chromium-based anti-ferromagnetic Elinvar alloy * Palladium-based non-magnetic Elinvar alloy The largest use of Elinvar was in balance springs for mechanical watches and chronometers. A major cause of inaccuracy in watches and clocks was that ordinar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Daniels (watchmaker)
George Daniels, CBE, FBHI, FSA, AHCI (19 August 1926 – 21 October 2011) was an English horologist who was considered by some to be one of the best in the world in the field of luxury mechanical watches and timepieces during his lifetime. He was a watchmaker who built complete watches by hand (including the case and dial). But it was his creation of the coaxial escapement for which he is most remembered. The movement, which theoretically removed the need to add a lubricant, has been used by Omega in most of their collections since 1999 with the exception of the Speedmaster Moonwatch (until the release of the Speedmaster Moonwatch Caliber 3861 in 2021). A gold chronograph pocket watch made by George Daniels, the ''Space Traveller's Watch I'', ranks as one of the 20 most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching £ 3,615,000 in London on 2 July 2019. Early career Daniels was born in Sunderland in 1926. His mother was unmarried so she fled London and travelled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-winding Watch
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distinguished from a ''manual watch'' in that a manual watch must have its mainspring wound by hand at regular intervals. Operation In a mechanical watch the watch's gears are turned by a spiral spring called a mainspring. In a ''manual watch'' energy is stored in the mainspring by turning a knob, the ''crown'' on the side of the watch. Then the energy from the mainspring powers the watch movement until it runs down, requiring the spring to be wound again. A self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring using the natural motions of the wearer's body. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot. The normal movements of the watch in the user's pocket (for a pocketwatch) or on the user's arm (for a wristwat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Harwood (watchmaker)
John Harwood (1893–1964) was a British watchmaker who invented a Automatic watch, self-winding wristwatch. Early life Harwood was born in Bolton, Lancashire. During World War I he served as an armoury staff sergeant, developing an Machine pistol, automatic pistol and a screwdriver whose blade turned on impact. Career After the war he served a watchmaking apprenticeship with Hirst Brothers and Co of Oldham. In 1922 he moved to the Isle of Man to set up his own watch repair business. In 1923, supported by a local businessman, he developed a self-winding wristwatch and applied for a patent in Switzerland, which was granted in September, 1924. His design ensured that the watch could be hermetically sealed against the ingress of water or dust. The hands could be reset by a rotating bezel. After four years, supported by funds from two Manchester brothers, Louis and Philip Alexander, he persuaded Swiss watch manufacturers Anton Schild S.A. and Walter Vogt of Fortis (Swiss watchmake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Spencer Jones
Sir Harold Spencer Jones KBE FRS FRSE PRAS (29 March 1890 – 3 November 1960) was an English astronomer. He became renowned as an authority on positional astronomy and served as the tenth Astronomer Royal for 23 years. Although born "Jones", his surname became "Spencer Jones". Early life Harold Spencer Jones was born in Kensington, London, on 29 March 1890. His father, Henry Charles Jones, was an accountant and his mother, Sarah Ryland, had earlier worked as a school teacher. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, in Hammersmith, West London, from where he obtained a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge. He graduated there in 1911, and was awarded a postgraduate studentship. He subsequently became a Fellow of the college. Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1913–1923 In 1913 he was appointed Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, filling a vacancy created by the departure of Arthur Eddington to become Plumian Professor of Ast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quartz Clock
Quartz clocks and quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks and watches are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than mechanical clocks. Generally, some form of digital logic counts the cycles of this signal and provides a numerical time display, usually in units of hours, minutes, and seconds. Since the 1980s, when the advent of solid-state digital electronics allowed them to be made compact and inexpensive, quartz timekeepers have become the world's most widely used timekeeping technology, used in most clocks and watches as well as computers and other appliances that keep time. Explanation Chemically, quartz is a specific form of a compound called silicon dioxide. Many materials can be formed into plates that will resonate. However, quartz is also a piezoelectric material: that is, when a quartz crystal is su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Marrison
Warren A. Marrison (21 May 1896 – 27 March 1980) was a Canadian engineer and inventor. Marrison was the co-inventor of the first Quartz clock in 1927. Early life and education Marrison was born in Inverary, Frontenac county, Ontario. He studied at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he was part of a new program in engineering physics. He graduated in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in physics engineering; his studies were interrupted by World War I when he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a radio technician. Beginning in 1921, he studied at Harvard University, ultimately receiving a master's degree. He worked at first for Western Electric in New York City, but moved to Bell Laboratories in New York beginning in 1925. Quartz clock At Bell Labs in New York, Marrison was working on frequency standards using quartz as a reference. It was in 1927 that he developed the first quartz clock while working with J.W. Horton. The clock used a block of crystal, stimulated by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronometer Watch
A chronometer (; Literally, a measurer of time) is an extraordinarily accurate timepiece, with an original focus on the needs of maritime navigation. In Switzerland, timepieces certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres ( COSC) may be marked as ''Certified Chronometer'' or ''Officially Certified Chronometer''. Outside Switzerland, equivalent bodies, such as the Japan Chronometer Inspection Institute, have in the past certified timepieces to similar standards, although use of the term has not always been strictly controlled. History The term ''chronometer'' was coined by Jeremy Thacker of Beverley, England in 1714, referring to his invention of a clock ensconced in a vacuum chamber. The term ''chronometer'' is also used to describe a marine chronometer used for celestial navigation and determination of longitude. The marine chronometer was invented by John Harrison in 1730. This was the first of a series of chronometers that enabled accurate marine navigation. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Harrison
John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at sea. Harrison's solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. The problem he solved was considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the Parliament of Great Britain, British Parliament offered financial rewards of up to £20,000 (equivalent to £ in ) under the 1714 Longitude Act. In 1730, Harrison presented his first design, and worked over many years on improved designs, making several advances in time-keeping technology, finally turning to what were called sea watches. Harrison gained support from the Board of Longitude, Longitude Board in building and testing his designs. Toward the end of his life, he received recognition and a reward from Parliament. Harri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rupert Gould
Rupert Thomas Gould (16 November 1890 – 5 October 1948) was a lieutenant-commander in the British Royal Navy noted for his contributions to horology (the science and study of timekeeping devices). He was also an author and radio personality. Life Gould grew up in Southsea, near Portsmouth, where his father, William Monk Gould, was a music teacher, organist, and composer. He was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and then, from 15 January 1906 the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, being part of the 'Greynville' term (group), and by Easter 1907, examinations placed him at the top of his class. He became a midshipman on 15 May 1907. He initially served on HMS ''Formidable'' and HMS ''Queen'' (under Captain David Beatty) in the Mediterranean. Subsequently, he was posted to China (first aboard HMS ''Kinsha'' and then HMS ''Bramble''). He chose the "navigation" career track and, after qualifying as a navigation officer, served on HMS ''King George V'' and HMS ''Achates'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
