Hendrik Johan Kessels
Hendrik Johan Kessels (15 May 1781 – 15 July 1849) was a Dutch-born clockmaker and internationally renowned naval chronometer maker. He was particularly active in Altona, then part of Denmark but now in (Germany). Life He was born in Maastricht, the third son of the cabinet maker Joachim Kessels and his wife Margaretha Caniëls. When he was ten years old his father died and the family moved to Margaretha's home town of Blerick. His eldest brother later became an architect in Hamburg, whilst his youngest brother was the sculptor Mathieu Kessels. He designed tower clocks from a young age. In 1807 he joined the workshop of a chronometer maker in Altona, which was then a Danish town near Hamburg. He later also studied clockmaking in London and Copenhagen. From 1815 to 1821 he worked with the famous clockmaker Abraham Louis Breguet in Paris, where he worked on more than 140 clocks and watches, including the so-called 'Marie Antoinette pocket watch'. An impressive example of th ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]