![Tim Mason](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Tim_Mason.XXX.jpg)
A clockmaker is an
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
who makes and/or repairs
clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
s. Since almost all clocks are now
factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by
jewellers
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western pe ...
,
antique shop
An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online.
An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...
s, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches. Clockmakers must be able to read
blueprints
A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...
and instructions for numerous types of clocks and time pieces that vary from antique clocks to modern time pieces in order to fix and make clocks or watches. The
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
requires
fine motor coordination Motor coordination is the orchestrated movement of multiple body parts as required to accomplish intended actions, like walking. This coordination is achieved by adjusting kinematic and kinetic parameters associated with each body part involved in t ...
as clockmakers must frequently work on devices with small
gears
A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic p ...
and fine
machinery
A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecule ...
.
Originally, clockmaker were
master craftsmen
Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries.
In the European guild system, only mas ...
who designed and built clocks by hand. Since modern clockmakers are required to repair
antique
An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...
, handmade or one-of-a-kind clocks for which parts are not available, they must have some of the
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
and
fabrication abilities of the original craftsmen. A qualified clockmaker can typically design and make a missing piece for a clock without access to the original component.
Clockmakers generally do not work on
watch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
es; the skills and tools required are different enough that watchmaking is a separate field, handled by another specialist, the
watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...
.
Origins and specialities
The earliest use of the term ''clokkemaker'' is said to date from 1390, about a century after the first mechanical clocks appeared. From the beginning in the 15th century through the 17th century, clockmaking was considered the "leading edge", most
technically advanced trade existing. Historically, the best clockmakers often also built
scientific instruments
A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research.
History
Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...
, as for a long time they were the only craftsmen around trained in designing precision mechanical apparatus. In one example, the
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
was invented by a young
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
clockmaker, which was then mass-produced by another clockmaker, Matthias
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...
.
Prior to 1800 clocks were entirely handmade, including all their parts, in a single shop under a master clockmaker. Examples of these complex movements can be seen in the many
longcase clocks
A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...
constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, clock parts were beginning to be made in small factories, but the skilled work of designing, assembling, and adjusting the clock was still done by clockmaking shops. By the 20th century,
interchangeable parts
Interchangeable parts are parts ( components) that are identical for practical purposes. They are made to specifications that ensure that they are so nearly identical that they will fit into any assembly of the same type. One such part can freely r ...
and
standardized
Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...
designs allowed the entire clock to be assembled in factories, and clockmakers specialized in repair of clocks.
In Germany,
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
and
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
were the early clockmaking centers, and the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
came to specialize in wooden
cuckoo clocks
A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...
.
Guilds
As the art of making clocks became more widespread and distinguished, guilds specifically for this trade emerged around the sixteenth century. One of the first
guilds
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
developed in London, England, known as the
Worshipful Company of Clockmakers
The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a royal charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The c ...
; the group formed after a small number of foreign-trained clockmakers spent time working in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
A requirement of joining the guild was to practise their craft and gain as much
experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
as possible, along with joining one of many other trade guilds, such as the
Blacksmiths
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
,
Stationers
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...
, or
Draper
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...
s Company. There are many guilds where clockmakers meet to buy, sell and get clocks to repair from customers, the IWJG is one of the most prominent in the world.
Quality control and standards were imposed on clockmakers by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, a guild which licensed clockmakers for doing business. By the rise of
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
in the late 18th century, clocks, especially pocket watches, became regarded as fashion accessories and were made in increasingly decorative styles. By 1796, the industry reached a high point with almost 200,000 clocks being produced annually in London. However, by the mid-19th century the industry had gone into steep decline from Swiss competition. Switzerland established itself as a clockmaking center following the influx of
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
craftsmen, and in the 19th century the Swiss industry "gained worldwide supremacy in high-quality machine-made watches". The leading firm of the day was
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 ha ...
, founded by
Antoni Patek
Antoni Norbert Patek (french: link=no, Antoine Norbert de Patek; 14 June 1812 – 1 March 1877) was a Polish pioneer in watchmaking and the creator of the Patek Philippe & Co., one of Swiss watchmaker companies, and Polish independence fighter and ...
of
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and
Adrien Philippe
Jean Adrien Philippe (April 16, 1815, La Bazoche-Gouet, Eure-et-Loir – January 5, 1894) was a French horologist and cofounder of watchmaker Patek Philippe & Co. of Geneva, Switzerland.
In 1842, Adrien Philippe invented a mechanism for watches ...
of
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
.
Tools
Early clockmakers fashioned all the intricate parts and wheelwork of clocks by hand, using hand tools. They developed specialized tools to help them.
* Balance Truing Caliper: This device was used in fashioning the wheels and gearwork of the clock, to make sure the wheel, particularly the
balance wheel
A balance wheel, or balance, is the timekeeping device used in mechanical watches and small clocks, analogous to the pendulum in a pendulum clock. It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a ...
was balanced and circular. The pivots of the wheel were mounted in the caliper. An index arm was moved next to the edge and the wheel was spun to see if the edge was true.
* Die/Screw Plate: The
die plate was used to cut
threads on small screws. It had a number of threaded die holes of different sizes for making different threads. A piece of wire was inserted in a hole and turned to cut a thread on the end. Then a head would be formed on the other end of the wire to make a screw.
* File: Hardened steel files were used to shape the metal before it was used to make and fit wheels or plates. There were many variations of
files.
* Rivet Extracting Pliers: Made of
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
or steel,
rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
extracting
pliers
Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...
were used to remove rivets from assorted clock parts.
* Jeweler’s
Piercing Saw
A piercing saw, also known as a jeweler's saw, is a type of saw commonly used in jewelry making on sheet metal. It is usually used on softer metals as the saw is delicate...
Like a coping saw
A coping saw is a type of bow saw used to cut int ...
: The blade of the saw was released by undoing the
thumbscrew adjacent to the handle. To start an interior cut, a hole was drilled and the blade was inserted and reattached to the saw. This device was popular among clockmakers to repair the ends of clock hands.
* Staking tool: An iron vertical plunger was used with an array of stakes for placing rollers and balanced wheels on staffs.
* Turns: The "turns" was a small bow-operated
lathe
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...
used for furbishing parts and for working gear blanks to size. During use, the device was clamped in a
vise
A vise or vice (British English) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever.
A vise grip is no ...
and the worker held a cutting or polishing tool on a tee-shaped tool rest with one hand, and shifted the bow back and forth to spin the part.
* Cross
Peen Riveting Hammer: The flat end of the tool was for general use, whereas the radiused peen end was used for flattening rivet heads. This tool was used for
forging
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...
, riveting, striking steel, etc.
Other uses
![Finnish School of Watchmaking](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Finnish_School_of_Watchmaking.JPG)
''Clockmaker'' is also the name of several movies.
Deists
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of t ...
often call
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
the "Clockmaker". The Temple of the Great Clockmaker, in the novel ''The Case Of The Dead Certainty'' by
Kel Richards
Kelvin Barry "Kel" Richards (born 8 February 1946) is an Australian author, journalist, radio personality and lay Christian.
Richards has written a series of crime novels and thrillers for adult readers which includes ''The Case of the Vanishi ...
, is a temple which represents deism.
The Clock Maker Theory and the
watchmaker analogy
The watchmaker analogy or watchmaker argument is a teleological argument which states, by way of an analogy, that a design implies a designer, especially intelligent design by an intelligent designer, i.e. a creator deity. The watchmaker analogy ...
describe by way of analogy
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
,
philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
opinions about the existence of
god
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
(s) that have been expressed over the years.
During the 1800s and 1900s, clocks or watches were carried around as a form of
flaunting social status. They were also a way of instilling a sense of time regulation for work in the
budding industrial market.
In 2004,
Jim Krueger
Jim Krueger () is an American comic book writer, novelist, and filmmaker.
Early life
Jim Krueger and his brother grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He developed an interest in comic books and storytelling in his youth, and has described a fateful t ...
wrote a comic book entitled ''The Clock Maker'', published by German publisher Image Publishing, that focuses on the life of a clockmaker.
Artist Tony Troy creates the Illustration titled "The Clockmaker" in 2003 for his Broadway musical "The Fluteplayer's Song".
Notable clockmakers
*
John Arnold, United Kingdom
*
Johann Baptist Beha
Johann Baptist Beha (1815 - 1898) was a prestigious Black Forest clockmaker born in Oberbränd (Eisenbach). He was trained by his father, the master clockmaker Vinzenz Beha (1764-1868), in his workshop where he built around 365 clocks between 18 ...
, Germany
*
Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud (born 18 March 1727, in Plancemont-sur-Couvet, Principality of Neuchâtel; died 20 June 1807, in Groslay, Val d'Oise), was a scientist and watchmaker. He became master watchmaker in Paris in 1753. Berthoud, who held the posi ...
, France and Switzerland
*
Abraham Louis Breguet
Abraham-Louis Breguet (10 January 1747 – 17 September 1823), born in Neuchâtel, then a Prussian principality, was a horologist who made many innovations in the course of a career in watchmaking industry. He was the founder of the Breguet ...
, France and Switzerland
*
Achille Brocot Louis Achille Brocot (pronounced "broco") (11 July 1817 – 19 January 1878) was a French clockmaker. and amateur mathematician..
He is known for his discovery (contemporaneously with, but independently of, German number theorist Moritz Stern) of ...
, France
*
Martin Burgess
Edward Martin Burgess FSA FBHI (born 21 November 1931), known as Martin Burgess, is an English horologist and master clockmaker.
Early life
Born in Yorkshire, Burgess was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, between 1944 and 1949, where he was ...
, United Kingdom
*
Joost Bürgi
Joost () was an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (founders of Skype and Kazaa). During 2007–2008 Joost used peer-to-peer TV (P2PTV) technology to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in la ...
, Switzerland
*
Konstantin Chaykin, Russia
*
Salomon Coster
Salomon Coster (c. 1620–1659) was a Dutch clockmaker of the Hague, who in 1657 was the first to make a pendulum clock, which had been invented by Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). Coster died a sudden death in 1659.
Coster's earliest pendulum ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
*
Antoine Cronier, Paris
*
Aaron Lufkin Dennison
Aaron Lufkin Dennison (March 6, 1812 – January 9, 1895) was an American watchmaker and businessman who founded a number of companies.
Early life
Dennison was born in Freeport, Maine, after which the family moved to Brunswick, Maine. He was ...
, United Kingdom
*
Giovanni de Dondi
Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio (c. 1330 – 1388), also known as Giovanni de' Dondi, was an Italian physician, astronomer and mechanical engineer in Padua, now in Italy. He is remembered today as a pioneer in the art of clock design and construct ...
, Italy
*
Richard Donisthorp, United Kingdom
*
Hans Düringer
Hans Düringer was a clockmaker from Nuremberg in Germany who died 1477 in Rostock. His most famous works are
*the Gdańsk Astronomical Clock in St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk 1470
*the Rostock Astronomical Clock in St. Mary's Church, Rostock 1472 ...
, Germany
*
John Ellicott, United Kingdom
*
Eugène Farcot
Henri-Eugène-Adrien Farcot (20 February 1830 in Sainville – 14 March 1896 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés) was a French clock-maker, industrialist, inventor, mechanical-engineer, aeronaut, occasional writer and one of the most celebrated conical pend ...
, France
*
George Graham
George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former football player and manager.
In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Ch ...
, United Kingdom
*
David Hare David Hare may refer to:
*David Hare (philanthropist) (1775–1842), Scottish philanthropist
*David Hare (artist) (1917–1992), American sculptor and photographer
*David Hare (playwright) (born 1947), English playwright and theatre and film direc ...
, Scottish philanthropist and pioneer of modern European Education in India
*
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 s ...
, United Kingdom
*
Peter Henlein
Peter Henlein (also spelled Henle or Hele) (1485 - August 1542), a locksmith and clockmaker of Nuremberg, Germany, is often considered the inventor of the watch., p.31 He was one of the first craftsmen to make small ornamental portable clocks wh ...
, Germany
*
Peter Hill (1767-1820), African-American clockmaker.
*
Tim Hunkin
Tim Hunkin (born Timothy Mark Trelawney Hunkin, 27 December 1950 in London) is an English engineer, cartoonist, writer, and artist living in Suffolk, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television series ''The Secret Life of ...
(made the London Zoo Clock and the Southwald Water Clock) United Kingdom
*
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
*
James Ivory
James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screen ...
, United Kingdom
*
Antide Janvier
Antide Janvier (1 July 1751 – 23 September 1835) was a French clockmaker.
Life
Antide Janvier was born in a village in the Jura (département), Jura, and learned the basics of his trade from his father, and was educated in Latin, Greek ...
, France
*
Mikulas of Kadan
*
Franz Ketterer
Franz Anton Ketterer (1676–1749) was a German clockmaker.
Ketterer, one of the founding fathers of the Black Forest clockmaking industry in Germany, was born in the village of . He is chiefly remembered as one of the earliest makers of cuckoo c ...
, Germany
*
J. B. Joyce & Company, United Kingdom
*
Johann Andreas Klindworth, Germany
*
Joseph Knibb
Joseph Knibb (1640–1711) was an English clockmaker of the Restoration era. According to author Herbert Cescinsky, a leading authority on English clocks, Knibb, "next to Tompion, must be regarded as the greatest horologist of his time."
Life a ...
, United Kingdom
*
Lazar the Hilandarian
Lazar ( sr, Лазар, russian: Лазарь), also known as Lazar the Serb or Lazar the Hilandarian ( fl. 1404), was a Serbian Orthodox monk-scribe and horologist who invented and built the first known mechanical public clock in Russia in 1404. ...
, late 14th- and early 15th-century
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and Russia
*
Jean-Antoine Lépine
Jean-Antoine Lépine (L’Pine, LePine, Lepine, L’Epine), born as Jean-Antoine Depigny, was an influential watchmaker. He contributed inventions which are still used in watchmaking today and was amongst the finest French watchmakers, who were c ...
, Franc
*
Pierre Le Roy
Pierre Le Roy (1717–1785) was a French clockmaker. He was the inventor of the detent escapement, the temperature-compensated balance and the isochronous balance spring. His developments are considered as the foundation of the modern precisi ...
, France
*
Jens Olsen
Jens Olsen (27 July 1872 – 17 November 1945) was a clockmaker, locksmith and astromechanic who built the famous Jens Olsen's World Clock, world clock located in the city hall of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen City Hall, Rådhus. He was born in R ...
, Denmark
*
Timothy Mason
Timothy Wright Mason (2 March 1940 – 5 March 1990) was an English Marxist historian of Nazi Germany. He was one of the founders of the ''History Workshop Journal'' and specialised in the social history of the Third Reich. He argued for the " ...
, United Kingdom
*
William Potts & Sons, United Kingdom
*
Sigmund Riefler
Sigmund Riefler (9 August 1847 – 21 October 1912) was a German physicist, inventor and precision clockmaker.
Life
Sigmund Riefler was born on 9 August 1847 to Magdalena and Clemens Riefler. He studied mathematics, geodesy and mechanical ...
, Germany
*
David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society ...
, United States
*
Rasmus Sørnes
Rasmus Jonassen Sørnes (22 March 1893 – 15 February 1967), was a Norwegian inventor, clockmaker and radio technician, and is most famous for his advanced astronomical clocks, the most precise of which has an inaccuracy of 7 seconds during 1000 ...
, Norway
* , Germany
*
Su Song
Su Song (, 1020–1101), courtesy name Zirong (), was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman. Excelling in a variety of fields, he was accomplished in mathematics, Chinese astronomy, astronomy, History of cartography#China, cartography, ...
, China
*
Smith of Derby Group
Founded in 1856, the Smith of Derby Group are clockmakers based in Derby, England. Smith of Derby has been in operation continuously under five generations of the Smith family.
History
John Smith (21 December 1813 - 1886)[Thwaites & Reed
Thwaites & Reed has been in continuous manufacture since its foundation and claims to be the oldest clock manufacturing company in the world. Geoffrey Buggins MBE, the last of the original family clockmakers, saw drawings of Thwaites clocks datin ...]
, United Kingdom
*
Eli Terry
Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks a ...
, United States
*
John Tolson, United Kingdom
*
Thomas Tompion
Thomas Tompion, FRS (1639–1713) was an English clockmaker, watchmaker and mechanician who is still regarded to this day as the "Father of English Clockmaking". Tompion's work includes some of the most historic and important clocks and watc ...
, United Kingdom
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Benjamin Vulliamy
Benjamin Vulliamy (1747 – 31 December 1811), was a British clockmaker responsible for building the Regulator Clock, which, between 1780 and 1884, was the main timekeeper of the King's Observatory Kew and the official regulator of time in Londo ...
, United Kingdom
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Richard of Wallingford
Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) was an English mathematician, astronomer, horologist, and cleric who made major contributions to astronomy and horology while serving as abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.
Biography
Richard was bor ...
, United Kingdom
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Simon Willard
Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston. Among his many innovations and timekeeping improvement ...
, United States
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John Whitehurst
John Whitehurst FRS (10 April 1713 – 18 February 1788), born in Cheshire, England, was a clockmaker and scientist, and made significant early contributions to geology. He was an influential member of the Lunar Society.
Life and work
Whit ...
, United Kingdom
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Michelangelo Sapiano, Malta
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G Bernard Ramsdale, United Kingdom
Clockmaking organizations
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AWCI
The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWCI) is a not-for-profit trade association based in the United States that is dedicated to the advancement of the modern watch industry, from which it receives a significant portion of its funding ...
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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 ...
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Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) is the Swiss watch industry's leading trade association, headquartered in Bienne, Switzerland. The Federation is a private, professional and non-profit association.
The Federation of the Swiss Watc ...
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Petrodvorets watch factory
The Petrodvorets Watch Factory (russian: Петродворцовый часовой завод) is one of the oldest factories in Russia. Founded by Peter the Great in 1721 as the Peterhof Lapidary Works, to make hardstone carvings, since 1945 th ...
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Worshipful Company of Clockmakers
The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a royal charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The c ...
See also
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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) ...
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Clockkeeper
A clockkeeper, sometimes seen as clock keeper, refers to a form of employment seen prevalently during Middle Age Europe involving the tracking of time and the maintaining of clocks and other timekeeping devices. However, the practice and its appea ...
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Horology
Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic cl ...
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List of clock manufacturers
The following is a list of notable companies that produced, or currently produce clocks. Where known, the location of the company and the dates of clock manufacture follow the name. In some instances the "company" consisted of a single person.
A ...
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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 ...
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National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
The National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, Inc. (NAWCC) is a nonprofit association of people who share a passion for collecting watches and clocks and studying horology (the art and science of time and timekeeping). The NAWCC's global m ...
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Watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...
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Timepiece
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
References
metc.organtiquesandfineart.comnawcc-index.net
Sources
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External links
American Watchmakers-Clockmakers InstituteThe British Horological InstituteNational Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
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