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Horology is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clocks are all examples of instruments used to measure time. In current usage, horology refers mainly to the study of mechanical time-keeping devices, while chronometry more broadly includes electronic devices that have largely supplanted mechanical clocks for the best accuracy and precision in time-keeping.
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 company established a library and its museum in 1813, which is the oldest specific collection of clocks and watches worldwide. This is administered by the company's affiliated charity, the Clockmakers' Charity, and is presently housed on the second floor of London's Science Museum. The modern aims of the company and its museum are charitable and educational, in particular to promote and preserve clockmaking and watchmaking, which as of 2019 were added to the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts.
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 parts, by hand. Modern watchmakers, when required to repair older watches, for which replacement parts may not be available, must have fabrication skills, and can typically manufacture replacements for many of the parts found in a watch. The term clockmaker refers to an equivalent occupation specializing in clocks.
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.
Zenith SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. The company was started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel and is one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers. Favre-Jacot invented the concept of "in house movements", believing that only through control of the entire watchmaking process could the highest quality be achieved. Zenith was purchased by LVMH in November 1999, becoming one of several brands in its watch and jewellery division, which includes TAG Heuer and Hublot. Julien Tornare is President and CEO.
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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 watches in the world, and can command very high prices whenever outstanding examples appear at auction. A plaque commemorates the house he shared on Fleet Street in London with his equally famous pupil and successor George Graham.
George Daniels, CBE, FBHI, FSA, AHCI was an English horologist who was considered by some to be one of the best in the world in the field of luxury mechanical watches and timepieces during his lifetime. He was a watchmaker who built complete watches by hand. But it was his creation of the coaxial escapement for which he is most remembered. The movement, which theoretically removed the need to add a lubricant, has been used by Omega in most of their collections since 1999 with the exception of the Speedmaster Moonwatch.
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. While the AWCI is an American organization, it also has members throughout the world.
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Jonathan Betts MBE is Curator Emeritus at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, a horological scholar and author, and an expert on the first marine timekeepers created by John Harrison in the middle of the 18th century. He was formerly Senior Specialist in horology at Greenwich. Between 2016 and 2019 he served on the board of trustees of the Institute of Conservation.
Maîtres du Temps is a Swiss watch company. Founded in 2005 by Steven Holtzman, the brand is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The brand launched in Geneva in 2008 with Chapter One, a watch developed by Christophe Claret, Roger Dubuis and Peter Speake-Marin.
John Harwood (1893–1964) was a British watchmaker who invented a self-winding wristwatch.
Maximilian Büsser is a Swiss businessman and founder of the watch brand MB&F. Prior to his work at MB&F he was the CEO of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces (1998–2005) and worked at Jaeger-LeCoultre (1991–1998). Büsser has lived in Dubai since 2014.
Parsons Horological Institute was the first horological school in the United States. It was founded in 1886, in La Porte, Indiana. In 1898, it moved to Peoria, Illinois, eventually becoming a department of what is now Bradley University.
LAURENT FERRIER is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 2009 and named after its founder, Laurent Ferrier. The company focuses on luxury watches with a production of around 300 watches in 2021. The company is headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology.
References
- ↑ "Roger W. Smith". Tp178.com. 14 October 2002. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "Roger W. Smith – British watchmaking is alive and (...)". Europastar.com. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ↑ "BBC News - The man who makes £100,000 watches". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
- ↑ . "The New York Watch Auction: Eight Lot 12". phillips.com. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ Touchot, Arthur (13 September 2016). "The Road Through Britain Episode 1: Roger W. Smith". Hodinkee. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ↑ "Watchmaker and charity worker honoured". BBC. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018– via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "The Watchmaker's Apprentice". IMDb. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
- ↑ "rwsmithwatches". YouTube. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
