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Observatory Chronometer
An observatory chronometer is a timepiece that has passed stringent testing and a slate of accuracy tests. Thus, the "observatory trial" developed as the standard process for determining accuracy of timepiece movements. If the chronometer passed the stringent testing, it would be certified. In the world of mechanical timepieces, accuracy is paramount. In the times before electronics, mechanical timepieces called marine chronometers were developed to a very high degree of accuracy for use in maritime navigation. To test the accuracy of such marine chronometers, watchmakers looked to a phalanx of astronomical observatories located in Western Europe to conduct assessments of timepieces. History Once mechanical timepiece movements developed sufficient precision to allow for accurate marine navigation, there eventually developed what became known as "chronometer competitions" at the astronomical observatories located in western Europe. The Neuchatel Observatory, Geneva Observatory, Be ... [...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] |
Seiko
, commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the first quartz watch with a chronograph complication. Seiko was a wristwatch manufacturer for Japanese soldiers during World War II. History 1881 founding to 1929 In 1881, Seiko founder Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called "K. Hattori" () in Tokyo. Kintarō Hattori had been working as clockmaker apprentice since the age of 13, with multiple stints in different watch shops, such as “Kobayashi Clock Shop”, ran by an expert technician named Seijiro Sakurai; “Kameda Clock Shop” in Nihonbashi; and “Sakata Clock Shop” in Ueno, where he learned how to both sell and repair timepieces. Around the time of Seiko's founding, watchmakers in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya were studying and producing pocket watches based on Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Organization For Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Article 3 of the ISO Statutes. ISO was founded on 23 February 1947, and (as of November 2022) it has published over 24,500 international standards covering almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing. It has 809 Technical committees and sub committees to take care of standards development. The organization develops and publishes standardization in all technical and nontechnical fields other than electrical and electronic engineering, which is handled by the IEC.Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. 3 June 2021.International Organization for Standardization" ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. Retrieved 2022-04-26. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and works in 167 countries . The three official languages of the ISO are English, Fren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watch Museum Of Le Locle
The Watch Museum of Le Locle ( French: Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle) is a municipal museum specializing in horology, located in Le Locle, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It is open to the public. The museum is located in a small historic country manor house, called 'Château des Monts', about one kilometer north of the city center, on a hill. Most visitors combine a visit to this museum with the other world-class horological museum in the region the Musée international d'horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a few kilometers further east. Collection The core of the museum collection is made up of several important legacies: *The Collection Maurice Yves Sandoz; the collection is particularly rich in Swiss-made automatons from the 18th and 19th century, many including mechanical music or singing bird automatons. *The Collection Henri Jeanmaire; the strength of this collection is the marquetry clock cases by Charles André Boulle in the Louis XIV era. *The Collection Alfred Hugu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathey-Tissot
Mathey-Tissot is a Swiss watch maker of prestige watches, originally established in 1886 by Edmond Mathey-Tissot at Les Ponts-de-Martel in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Mathey-Tissot is an independent watchmaker, headquarter is located in Geneva. Mathey-Tissot is not associated with Tissot, another Swiss watchmaking firm. History Edmond Mathey-Tissot established his watchmaking business in the village of Les Ponts-de-Martel in 1886. He began by specializing in complications, and especially repeater pocket watches, that is, watches which chime the hour or the hour and quarter-hour (quarter-repeater) or the hour, quarter-hour and minute (minute-repeater). The firm soon proceeded to make chronographs and won a number of prizes.Mathey-Tissot SwitzerlandHistory at mathey-tissot.net In 1899, the outbreak of the Second Boer War led to such an expansion in demand for Mathey-Tissot watches that a new factory was built. Among the orders received was one from a nobleman in S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is the second oldest Swiss manufacturer and one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its foundation in 1755. It employs around 1,200 people worldwide as of 2018, most of whom are based in the company's manufacturing plants in the Canton of Geneva and Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. Vacheron Constantin is a highly regarded watch manufacturer. The Vacheron Constantin pocket watch No. 402833 (1929), which was owned by King Fuad I of Egypt, ranks as one of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching US$2.77 million (3,306,250 CHF) in Geneva on April 3, 2005. In 2015, Vacheron Constantin introduced the pocket watch Reference 57260, which currently holds the title of the most complicated mechanical watch ever made, with 57 horological c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chopard
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard, is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by the Scheufele family of Germany since 1963. Chopard is best known for making high-quality Swiss watches and jewellery, and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The company is headquartered in Geneva and has a site in Fleurier, Canton of Neuchâtel, that manufactures watch movements. History Early history The company founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, was a Swiss watchmaker who grew up in Sonvilier, a town in Swiss Jura. In 1860, he established his L.U.C. manufacturing company in Sonvilier, having observed that it was more profitable to market the finished watch than to just make the mechanical movement. After Louis-Ulysse's death in 1915, the company was taken over by his son Paul-Louis and grandson Paul-André. The com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont. Jaeger-LeCoultre is regarded as a top-tier Richemont brand. It has hundreds of inventions, patents, and more than one thousand movements to its name, including the world's smallest movement, one of the world's most complicated wristwatches (Grande Complication), and a timepiece of near-perpetual movement (the ''Atmos clock''). History Early history The earliest records of the LeCoultre family in Switzerland date from the 16th century, when Pierre LeCoultre (circa 1530 – circa 1600), a French Huguenot, fled to Geneva from Lizy-sur-Ourcq, France to escape religious persecution. In 1558, he obtained the status of “inhabitant” but left the following year to acquire a plot of land in the Vallé ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet Holding SA () is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches and clocks, headquartered in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux in 1875, acquiring the name ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' in 1881. The company has been family-owned since its founding. The company is best known for introducing the Royal Oak wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand rise to prominence within the watchmaking industry. One of its earlier achievements was creating the first minute-repeating movement in 1892. The company developed the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has manufactured some of the thinnest watches, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870). History Early history Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet knew each other in their childhood but were not reconnected until 1874, when they were in their early twenties. In 1875, they formed partnership with Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Patek Philippe is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers in the world. Over the years, notable Patek Philippe patrons and timepiece owners i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux SA () is a luxury Swiss watch ''manufacture'' with its origins dating back to 1791. Since 2011, the Swiss holding group of Girard-Perregaux, Sowind Group, has been a subsidiary of the French luxury group Kering. Headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the company opened the Girard-Perregaux Museum near its headquarters in Villa Marguerite in 1999. It is best known for the historic Tourbillon with three gold bridges, which was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 International Exposition in Paris soon after the launch of the watch. Other notable models from the company include the collection 1966, Vintage 1945, and models such as Tri-Axial Tourbillon and Laureato, an icon inspired from the 70s. History Early history In 1791, watchmaker and goldsmith Jean-François Bautte signed his first watches. He created a manufacturing company in Geneva, grouping for the first time ever all the watchmaking facets of that time. This included the engineering of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Chronometer
A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern world its successor Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and the time at the current location found from observations of celestial bodies. When first developed in the 18th century, it was a major technical achievement, as accurate knowledge of the time over a long sea voyage was vital for effective navigation, lacking electronic or communications aids. The first true chronometer was the life work of one man, John Harrison, spanning 31 years of persistent experimentation and testing that revolutionized naval (and later aerial) navigation and enabling the Age of Discovery and Colonialism to accelerate. The term ''chronometer'' was coined from the Greek words '' χρόνος (chronos)'' (meaning time) and ''meter'' (meaning measure) in 1713 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
