Monday 4 June 2012

Time has stopped at Antiques House



Mechanical clocks came as an advancement to the metrics of time as they the old water clocks, which, by the 13th century, had been around for millennia. Water flowed steadily into a vertical tank and the rising water level indicated the time of day. That's simple enough, but, like mechanical clocks, water clocks had become ornate structures with gears and dials. Like mechanical clocks, they tolled the hours and displayed the planets. As expected the new device was smaller in size and more delicate, though the size of a freestanding floor clock either of this era, ore even one much “younger” would seem like a large piece of furniture today.

The accuracy of these mechanical clocks was limited at first. In the 16th century, pocket watches were discovered, but they were quite big as well, and were worn on a chain round the neck, and of course the first "table" clocks made their appearance, although most of them were to be found resting on parapets of large fireplaces, in the case they were not considered a "furniture" themselves! Around 1700 Queen Anne of England offered a small fortune as a reward to anyone who would discover a way to calculate with the maximum accuracy longitude. Ten years later, the watchmaker John Harrison, discovered that for an accurate determination of longitude requires accurate time measurement. So the Navy utilized for the first time what later became known as the “Harrison Marine Chronometer”, which measured the time with great accuracy and was tested by famous explorers such as Captain Cook. This device won the Queen's supremacy and led to the construction of the first precision clock. The next century with the advancement of technology the first wristwatches began to emerge, which were worn only by women, while men used pocket watches only. This social habit was reversed in the First World War that the great need for consistency in time became understood, and so the wristwatch was worn by men. In the modern era the clocks became more elaborate objects...

In the slideshow you will see some of the most beautiful watches that will go through the auction of June 6 in Antiques House. For more information (prices start as many elements for each object), find the root directory of the auction by clicking HERE


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