Watches

Some would say that early Egyptians were the first to generate a mechanical way of measuring time by the flow of jogging water. The earliest accurate clocks were built by monks in France to basically tell you what time to pray. Theses clocks told time audibly with bells & had no hand indicators.

Before watches, there were clocks. Before clocks, there was basically mechanism to tell & measure time. Sundials told time by shadows. Hourglasses measured time by predictable rates of sand moving through a narrow channel.

In the 1700’s, Queen Anne of England wanted to extend her vast maritime power & offered a large reward of 20,000 pounds for anyone who invented something that reliably calculated longitude.

In the 16th century pocket watches were invented in Tudor, England. The watches were amazingly sizable & were generally worn around the neck because of their girth. It is rumored that in the famous painting of Henry VIII, it was not a medallion around his neck, but a pocket watch he owned. While pocket watches were invented in the 16th century, it was not until the 17th century that they became more common & accurate.

A self-taught watchmaker by the name of John Harrison discovered that a precise reading of a ships longitude could only happen if you knew the exact time. At this point, Harrison decided that he needed to generate a watch that was far more accurate then what was available at that time. He worked for more then ten years to generate 4 versions of the Harrison Marine Chronometer. He presented his plate sized watch to the royal academy & had his chronometers tested by people like Captain Cook. Harrison’s Marine Chronometer went through plenty of trials & finally was accepted by the Queen who then paid him his prize money of 20,000 pounds.