Mechanical watch

Mechanical clock is the generic term for watches with a mechanical, mainly gears containing clockwork.

The term is used to distinguish it from the historically older elementary Watches ( water clocks, sundials, astrolabes, fire clocks, candle clocks, star clocks and hourglasses ) and of the electro-mechanical watches that do not contain more wheels, or from digital watches with electro-optical digital display that at all without moving mechanical parts.

History and Development

First wheel clocks are detectable around 1300. Initially, they were used in churches and town halls as public clocks. With the increasing spread of the mechanical clock, the professional image of the watchmaker formed as a splinter group of locksmithing.

Early monumental wheels, clocks were usually art watches or served astronomical observations. They were worked according consuming and often equipped with a variety of astronomical indications. At the same time simple and smaller in their dimensions watches developed, whereby they learned a great spread. As early as 1450 the first mechanical clocks were equipped with spring drive and in 1510 produced the Nuremberg watchmaker Peter Henlein already portable table high quality watches. Galileo Galilei discovered the isochronism of 1583, the basic requirement for the invention of the pendulum clock in 1650 by Christiaan Huygens. The production truly portable clocks and thus the development of the mechanical clock pocket watch is for, but until the invention of the balance to 1674 also by Huygens, possible.

The leadership in the development and improvement of mechanical clocks, which had then still located in the early 16th century in Nuremberg, Augsburg, changed rapidly after mid-17th century England. In the Black Forest, in the Netherlands and France were formed more important centers of watchmaking high quality and distinctive regional types of clocks, as well as in Vienna and Geneva.

With the beginning of the industrial revolution at the end of the 18th century and mass production in factories, the mechanical clock finally learned the breakthrough to the everyday object. From pocket watch to watch it was at the beginning of the 20th century only a small step.

Mention in the literature

It is not known when the first wheel clock built. However, already the Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri in his comedy La Commedia (ca. 1307-1320 ), the mechanical clock used as a metaphor for the dance of the blessed. Clocks were so at that time already been invented, and probably in general use:

Beatrix said, 's - as to the pole location Explore drehn spheres, so those blissful now, Flaming, comets equal in fervor and Bright! How well together, the clocks do wheels - Full Express to fly ' seems to be the last, The first seems when one contemplates 's to Ruhn, - So different set in motion Each circle, drob as he proved Fast or indolent ', I appreciated his wealth.