Timekeeping Milestones

It seems as though from the earliest records, humankind has had a certain fascination with time. The "dial of Ahaz" in the Old Testament of the Bible seems to be one of the earliest references to human attempt to measure time by the sun. We know that the Greeks and the Romans had other means to show the passing of moments such as the invention of different types of Clepsydras and Hourglasses. One of these devices utilized the measured passing of water while the other used sand.

Simple mechanical forms of measuring time were developed during Medieval Times with early geared machines with one hand and an escape mechanism known as Verge and Foliot.

But in my mind, there are three periods of history that changed the world because of horological development by geniuses of their day.

First, In the 18th century, clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776) developed a gimbeled escapement that was not negatively influenced by external motion, such as a buoyant ship on the sea. This allowed for maritime navigation with accuracy. Harrison's account is documented in the book and subsequent movie, "Longitude" by Dava Sobel, an American author from New York.

In early Colonial America, clock making and timekeeping accuracy was perfected by makers such as Simon and Aaron Willard of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Their distinctly American clock case designs such as the Pillar & Scroll shelf clocks, the Roxbury Fretwork tallcase clocks, and the Banjo wall clocks were handmade piece by piece. During the Industrial Revolution, makers such as Seth Thomas, E. N. Welch, and others mass produced brassworks clocks that were affordable for the farmers and general laborers.

Secondly, until the 20th century, each community had a "town clock" by which the rest of the town would set their clocks to. While this community synchronization worked well for the town, another town 10 or 20 miles away may have their "town clock" set to a time that could be as much as 30 - 40 minutes different. As the railroads developed, this time difference became a real problem, so to add to the confusion, the railroads established "railroad time" and synchronized each station with a daily signal at 12:00 noon. With all these different layers of time, things got too confusing, so in the United States, Congress passed the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918.

The third horological discovery came in 1928, when Jean-Léon Reutter, a Swiss engineer invented the "perpetual motion" clock. This clock functions through temperature and barometric changes that occur atmospherically. These changes effect a gas-filled sealed bellows that then automatically winds the clock. The sensitivity of this instrument is such that a 2 degree temperature change will wind the clock for 2 weeks worth of energy. We know that the clock is not self generating this energy, therefore it is not truly "perpetual motion." I have seen these clocks run for 40 or more years with minimal to zero maintenance. They are a true wonder. The natural law concerning perpetual motion is that it is impossible. This is a consequence of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The first law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. A perpetual motion machine would require creating energy from nothing, which violates this law. The second law states that in an isolated system, the total entropy (disorder) will always increase, meaning that some energy will always be lost or wasted during transformations. A perpetual motion machine would have to operate without any energy loss, which violates this law as well." ...Wikipedia

This week I have had all three of these clocks in my shop for servicing and repair. 1.) Reproduction of the John Harrison Grasshopper Clock by Comitti of London 2.) William Cummins Banjo clock (apprentice of Simon Willard) 3.) Atmos clock by Jaeger-Lecoultre.