Water and fire weapons had natural limitations in their use. With the invention of mechanical watches and their subsequent improvement, these restrictions were removed. The measurement of time began to be limited natural factors, but more by the art of masters, the development of science and technology. Mechanical watches in our 21st century represent the height of perfection in the technology of manufacturing parts, amazing precision, modern design and a great set of features.

The history of mechanical watches

Some researchers believe that the appearance of mechanical watches was a consequence of the improvement of water clocks, but other scientists believe that there is no direct connection between them. What really had a significant impact on the history of mechanical watches was the development of astronomy as a science and, in connection with this, precision mechanics.

Villard de Connecourt, a French architect who lived in the 13th century, sketched in his album the mechanism with which, as Western historians traditionally believe, the history of mechanical watches began.

However, their design is quite primitive. And between them and mechanical watch XIV century there is such a big difference that many historians have doubts about the truth of this statement.

Be that as it may, it is not known who invented the spindle stroke, used as a regulating device, and the folio balancer made the invention of mechanical watches possible. Originally the English word clock, Saxon clugge, French cloche and Old German glocke meant a bell and the first mechanical watches did not have a dial, but they announced the time in battle. Such clocks were installed in monasteries to announce the arrival of time for prayer or work. Then they began to be used as city clocks. This is how tower mechanical clocks appeared, the history of creation and detailed information about which is described by many famous people who lived at that time.

However, it cannot be said that the construction of mechanical tower clocks in Europe and the history of watchmaking began with the improvement of these simple tower clocks. Italian and other mechanical tower clocks from the 14th century. had a much more complex device. Like some Greek water clocks, they showed not only the time, but also the movements of the Sun, Moon, planets and zodiac constellations, and the figurines showed everyday scenes and Christian subjects.

The first complex mechanical tower clocks represent an interweaving of technology, mechanics and art. The use of gear wheels is their characteristic feature. In addition to complex multi-stage wheel transmissions, cam and ratchet mechanisms, as well as couplings. The tower clock of Juanello Turriano contains 1800 gears in its mechanism.

To use a gear transmission system with large gear ratios, knowledge of the most important kinematic relationships was required, such as the ratio of the number of wheel revolutions for a certain number of teeth. Leonardo da Vinci and Geronimo Cardano contributed to the development of the basic kinematics of mechanisms.

Since the time of creation of such complex mechanical tower clocks coincided with the development of art during the Renaissance, they represented not only the mechanical perfection of that period, but also, due to their external beauty, were a true masterpiece of art. Interest in them has not waned even now.

Since the 15th century, mechanical watches for individual use have become widespread. They are purchased by noble persons, princes, princes, kings, for installation in palaces and castles.

Such clocks were the same in design as public clocks, except for their dimensions. They could be attached to the wall and had a movement and combat mechanism, driven, like the tower ones, by a load.

Mainspring

In the 16th century, the demand for home watches increased, but they remained a luxury item, and only very rich townspeople could afford them. However, the use of the mainspring at the very end of the 16th century allowed watchmakers to make watches required sizes. Portable pocket watches appear. From this moment on, mechanical watches became available to a wide range of citizens. At the same time, Europe switches to calculating time using equal 12 day and 12 night hours.

Charles V, King of France, took the first step in this direction; after installing the de Vic palace tower clock, he issued a decree: all Temples in Paris should measure time by them. Gradually, all of Europe switched to new system time measurements.

And, although the very first mention of a mainspring dates back to the 15th century, it was most likely used only by Italian craftsmen.

In the 16th century, Nuremberg became a significant center for the development of trade and science. In this city, the production of spring clocks achieves significant success.

The initiator of the production of mechanical spring watches in Nuremberg was Peter Henlein. Soon, so to speak, a competition begins between French, Italian, German and other European masters. Using a spring, each of them sought to make their watches unique in terms of complexity and additional functions. Big clock showed the time, calendar, Christian holidays, phases of the moon, complex mechanisms in the clock moved different figures. Only the simplest watches showed time and had a strike function. The shape of the desktop portable spring mechanical clock was spherical and cylindrical. The latter can now be seen in many museums in Europe.

The description of the clock called "Nuremberg Eggs" is found in many historical documents. It is mentioned that they were so small that they could be put in a wallet. On the dial of early mechanical watches there was only one hour hand. The minute hand and sometimes the second hand appear around 1550 only on large clocks. Such watches can now be seen in museums in Nuremberg. The mechanism of the first table clock were not covered with a housing; this was done later to protect it from dust and corrosion.

Several watch production centers are emerging in Europe: Florence, Venice, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Rome, Paris, Blois, Grenoble, Lyon, Antwerp, Jurusse, Ghent, Brussels, Amster, London, Nuremberg and Augsburg.

The first mechanical table clocks differed from portable ones only in their external decoration. Small columns, pilasters, caryatids, planes were decorated with carvings, gilding and graceful moving figures.

In Switzerland, in Geneva, in 1587, the first watch workshop was opened by Charles Cousin, who was originally from Burgundy. After 100 years, there were already one hundred watchmakers and three hundred apprentices in Geneva, and five thousand watches were produced every year. Such a rapid development of watchmaking in Geneva was due to the fact that the Huguenots, persecuted from everywhere, among whom there were many watchmakers, found refuge in this city.

The production of spring watches in Great Britain developed only in early XVII century, which was again facilitated by the resettlement of the Huguenots to this country, in connection with the abolition of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV, after which the persecution of the Huguenots resumed.

The history of the development of mechanical watches in the 17th century.

The tendency to reduce the size of spring mechanical watches, which emerged in the 16th century, developed in the 17th century. Oval and egg-shaped pocket watches appear. But only by 1650 did mechanical pocket watches finally take on the familiar shape of a circle.

Artistic images were applied to cases and dials made of silver, gold and rock crystal using special enamel. Often the case of a pocket watch was decorated precious stones. The mechanism for adjusting the stroke uses a balance that uses the elastic properties of pig bristles, which can be compressed and unclenched, as well as a “stackfreed” brake mechanism that eliminates uneven strokes. This unevenness occurred because the torque when the spring was fully compressed gradually decreased as the spring expanded. The first mechanical pocket watches had to be wound every 12 hours. It should be noted that in modern watches There are one more pair of wheels and tribes. Some pocket watches have a minute hand and, much less frequently, a second hand.

By 1700, the centers of watch production finally moved to England and Switzerland. Development of watchmaking in Western Europe contributed to the creation of other mechanical inventions, such as: Waccanson machine guns. His most famous winding mechanisms are the flute player and the duck. The flutist, of course, played the flute, and the duck stood up, shook itself, quacked, ate grains and, I apologize, defecated.

The history of the development of mechanical watches contributed to the development of mechanics in general. The inventor Droz made an automatic draftsman, a scribe and a girl playing the harpsichord. In general, the mechanical spring clock was the first machine invented by man, a machine that had an exceptional influence on all subsequent inventions. Of course, the contribution of complex water clocks cannot be underestimated, but it was the mainspring that gave the necessary impetus to further development mechanics in Europe and around the world. Despite the fact that before the advent of pendulum clocks, the progress of mechanical clocks (due to low accuracy) was checked against solar time, the spread of the latter contributed to the development of trade, production and, in general, the economy of Europe.

History of the development of pendulum clocks.

The history of pendulum clocks begins in the Muslim east in the Middle Ages.

A certain Arab scientist Ibn Yunis used a pendulum at the beginning of the second millennium to measure time, for which there is historical confirmation. In Western Europe, the pendulum, as a clock regulator, was described by Leonardo da Vinci. Galileo developed the theory of the pendulum and proposed the idea of ​​​​creating a pendulum clock, which interested the Dutch. Unfortunately, neither Galileo nor his son had time to build a working model, and his idea, formalized in drawings, remained on paper until the invention of the pendulum clock by Christian Huygens. It just so happens that the history of the development of pendulum clocks is closely connected with this name. Not knowing about the works of Galileo and his son Vincenzo, he wrote a memoir, “The Pendulum Clock” (“Horologium oscillatorium”), which was published in 1673 in Paris.

Huygens designed a clock with a conical pendulum, a marine clock and described a mathematical pendulum. Later, Henry Sully, a student of the famous British watchmaker George Graham, was also involved in the creation of marine pendulum clocks. The problem was that pitching and the force of gravity varying depending on latitude, acting on any pendulum (Sully also created a clock with a “horizontal pendulum”), made pendulum clocks unsuitable for sailors.

After the invention of the anchor stroke in England by Clement, which ensured that a long and heavy pendulum oscillated in a small arc, clocks became more accurate, which is why British clocks gained worldwide fame.

Georg Graham achieved a clock accuracy of 0.1s by improving Clement's anchor stroke. Over the next 200 years, Graham's move remained the most accurate. Gragham studied the linear expansion coefficients of the base metals used at the time. Based on these studies, he invented a mercury compensatory pendulum, which allows one to correct the unevenness of pendulum clocks caused by changes in ambient temperature.

With the improvement of mechanical pendulum clocks, with an increase in their accuracy, the need for barometric compensation arose. The fact is that Atmosphere pressure had an impact on the smoothness of the movement, and since it was proven that it was impossible to place the watch mechanism in a vacuum (the oil used to lubricate the mechanism evaporated and the friction force increased), the watchmakers thought about this problem.

IN late XIX centuries, the so-called free anchor movements of the pendulum clocks of Riefler, Strasser and Manhardt were used. Without going into a description of these constant force moves, let's just say that an accuracy of 0.002-0.003s was achieved. (from Riefler). Riefler placed the watch in a sealed case with rarefied air, the pressure of which could be adjusted using a pump.

However, high accuracy pendulum clocks were necessary only for their use in astronomy. In 1758, Bradley produced a very accurate and stable watch with an accuracy of 0.102 seconds, which the best watchmakers in Europe could not repeat even after 1800.

The pendulum, as a speed regulator, began to be used in tower, wall, floor and other stationary clocks.

In the 19th century, many existing tower clocks were reconstructed, as well as the construction of new ones, but this is a topic for a separate story.

The design of mechanical pocket watches was not significantly changed after Huygens, but in the 19th century it was constantly supplemented with new mechanisms. A calendar, combat, repair and signaling mechanisms appeared. The following were also improved: a spring motor, a gear train (in particular the shape of the wheel teeth), an escapement regulator (over two hundred strokes were invented), a balance-spiral system, a pointer mechanism, a mechanism for winding watches and moving hands (in particular, this is a winding mechanism without a key or "remontoir" - an invention of the Swiss Andrian Philippe in 1842), at the beginning of the 20th century they began to use artificial stones red ruby ​​as supports for axles and axles.

At the same time, mechanical watches are undergoing a number of improvements. Alloys with low corrosion resistance have been found for use in spiral mainsprings. A balance-spiral system appeared, which could be used as a speed regulator in pocket and wrist watches. Temperature compensation of the balance-spiral system is applied.

The longest and most interesting period that the history of watches knows is precisely the period of time during which the period of development of mechanical watches occurred. It should be noted that improvements in mechanical watches continue to this day. Swiss watch manufactories to this day are rightfully considered the best manufacturers hours in the world.

The most complex and interesting mechanism created in the Middle Ages was the mechanical watch. Who invented mechanical watches? There are sources claiming that such watches first appeared in Western Europe. And yet, the first mechanical watches were invented in China and they were created by a monk, and now let’s talk about everything in order.

In 723, the Buddhist monk and mathematician Yi Xing designed a clock mechanism, which he called a “spherical map of the heavens from a bird's eye view,” driven by water. Water was a source of energy, but movement was regulated by mechanisms. These clocks had a kind of escapement device that delayed the rotation of the water wheel until each of its buckets was filled to the top, and then allowed it to rotate at a certain angle, and thus the history of mechanical clocks began.

Invention of mechanical watches in Europe

It is difficult to say when mechanical watches were invented in Europe. In the 13th century. they, in any case, they already existed. Dante, for example, mentions striking wheel clocks. It is known that in 1288 a tower clock was installed in London's Westminster. They had one hand that marked only the hours (minutes were not measured then). There was no pendulum in them, and the movement was not very accurate.

Tower wheel clocks were not only time meters, but often represented a true work of art, being the pride of cathedrals and cities. For example, the tower clock of Strasbourg Cathedral (1354) showed the moon, sun, parts of the day and hours, and celebrated holidays church calendar, Easter and related days. At noon, three wise men bowed before the figurine of the Mother of God, and the rooster crowed and beat its wings. A special mechanism set in motion small cymbals that struck the time. From the Strasbourg clock to this day, only the rooster remains.

Mechanical watches in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, time was not measured accurately in practice. It was divided into approximate periods - morning, noon, evening - without clear boundaries between them. French king Louis IX (1214-1270) measured the elapsed time at night by the length of a constantly shortening candle.

The only place where they tried to streamline the counting of time was the church. She divided the day not by natural phenomena(morning, evening, etc.), but in accordance with the cycle of worship, repeated daily. The countdown began with matins (towards the end of the night), and with dawn the first hour was marked and then sequentially: the third hour (in the morning), the sixth (at noon), the ninth (afternoon) in the evening and the so-called “final hour” - the time when the daily clock ended worship. But the names of the services marked not only time intervals, but the beginning of certain stages of daily worship, which fell on different “physical” times in different times of the year.

Church timekeeping was displaced in the 14th century, when striking tower clocks began to be erected on city buildings. It is interesting that in 1355, residents of a French town were given permission to build a city bell tower so that its bells would chime not the church clock, but the time of commercial transactions and the work of clothiers.

In the XIV century. people begin to diligently count time. Mechanical striking clocks became widespread, and with them the idea of ​​dividing the day into 24 equal hours firmly entered into consciousness. Later, in the 15th century, a new concept was introduced - the minute.

In 1450, a spring clock was invented, and by the end of the 15th century. Portable watches came into use, but they were still too large to be called pocket or hand watches. In Rus', tower clocks appeared in 1404 and in the 15th-16th centuries. spread throughout the country.

They were invented by a watchmaker from the German city of Nuremberg. Peter Henlein.

He replaced weights in his mechanism with a spring. A spring, no matter how you twist it, always tends to unwind. I took advantage of this property Peter Henlein. There is a mechanism inside the pocket watch. It has a flat box - this is a house in which the spring is located. One end of it, the inner one, is motionless. The other - external - is attached to the wall of the house or drum.

When a mechanical watch is wound, the barrel is rotated and the spring is twisted, the outer tip making circles. As soon as the spring is twisted, it begins to unwind and gradually returns to its original place.

Gears transmit rotation to the clock hands. In pocket watches invented Henlein, there was only one arrow. There was no glass at all. And above each number there was a tubercle - so you could determine by touch what time it was. After all, in the old days it was considered extremely impolite to look at the clock while, for example, visiting. Therefore, when the guest was about to leave, he felt for the watch in the pocket of his jacket and determined the time.

The minute hand appeared on clocks around 1700. And the second - after another sixty years. Why? In the old days, there was no need to accurately measure time, so clocks with one hand made do. But the years passed. Trade developed. The ships set sail. Roads were built between cities. Manufactories opened in cities. Life became more and more hurried and businesslike. People have learned to value their time.

In the 18th century, a minute hand appeared on the clock, and later a second hand.

Watch glass appeared only in the 17th century. The pocket watch was wound with a key.

The first pocket watch were called "Nuremberg eggs", although in fact they looked little like eggs. They had round boxes. Then they began to give the clocks the most bizarre shapes. There were clocks in the form of butterflies, stars, hearts, acorns, crosses and more.

Photo 1 – tower clock in Zimmer, Belgium

When did mechanical watches appear?

Photo 2 – vintage mechanical watch

The first mention of a timekeeping mechanism was found in a Byzantine manuscript from the late 6th century. In China in the 8th century, mechanical structures were invented that increased the accuracy of watches. In Europe, the first mechanical watches appeared in the 9th century in France.

The working principle of mechanical watches

Photo 3 – On the right - the devices of the first clock mechanisms with a pendulum. On the left is a diagram of the operation of a wooden shaft using the energy of a moving load.

The clock mechanisms of antiquity worked on the principle of uniform rotation of a wooden shaft, on which a gear was mounted and a rope with a load was wound. The rope lowered under the weight of the load, the teeth of the shaft wheel, coupled with the transmission wheel, set the dial hands in motion.

Large mechanical watch.

Photo 4 - the oldest tower clock in Europe - Big Ben is located on the tower of the Palace of Westminster in London.

The energy of a moving weight was the basis of the first tower clocks. The number of teeth on the wheels was calculated so that a full circle of the hour wheel measured one hour of time. A necessary condition The operation of the mechanism was a continuous lifting of the load upward after unwinding the rope.

Photo 5 - tower clock installed in a palace in Paris.

This is how the tower clock of the royal palace in Paris was built in 1370. The watchmaker de Wit's design had a total height of more than 10 m. A rope with a 200 kg weight was lowered evenly, measuring 24 hours.

Photo 6 – Dutch physicist Huygens with the design of a clock mechanism.

The discovery of the law of constant oscillation of a pendulum by scientist Galileo Galilei in the 16th century was useful for improving the clock mechanism. In 1657, the Dutch physicist Huygens first used a pendulum as a regulator of clock accuracy. He managed to reduce the clock error to 10 seconds.

Photo 7 - tower clock on Old Town Square in Prague.

Photo 8 – fragment of the Old Town Clock.

The tower clock on Old Town Square in Prague is still in use today. The masterpiece of Czech masters amazes with its theatrical performance every hour. Twelve apostles emerge from two windows above the dial. The figures of Death and people come into action, clearly showing the vanity of existence and the fatal inevitability of the end of life. The striking of the clock ends with the crow of a rooster and the final blessing of the figure of Christ.

Photo 9 – Washington Congress clock.

The transition to wristwatches as a symbol of the owner's wealth occurred in 1500.

Photo 10 - antique German pocket watch from 1503.

A spring pendulum made of hardened steel, flexible tape was invented in Germany.

Photo 11 – “Rolling Ball” clock, 1808. The English master William Congreve used a ball rolling along the grooves of a plane instead of a pendulum. Reaching the end, the ball outweighs the platform and moves in the opposite direction.

The result was a revolutionary change in designs and a wide range of functional properties of watches.

Photo 12 – watch by master Thomas Tompion, 1690.

The English watchmaker Thomas Tompion, based on the drawings of Robert Hooke, made a new generation watch for King Charles II.

Photo 13 – pocket watch.

The 17th century brought a new round of improvement in watchmaking.

A breakthrough in watchmaking in the 17th century was the use of a spiral balancer. This increased the accuracy of the watch and opened up the possibility of combining the hour, minute, and second hands on one dial. The dimensions of the mechanism have been significantly reduced. Easy-to-use pocket watches have appeared.

Photo 14 – wrist watch- bracelet. Austria, 19th century.

The idea to adapt them to the hand came to the master Pierre Jacques Droz in 1790. He attached the case to a leather strap, solving two problems at once:

• quick determination of time because the clock was now in sight;
• an original addition to the owner's costume.

Photo 15 – watch by master Louis Breguet, commissioned by the Queen of Naples. 1810

In 1810, watchmaker Louis Breguet made a miniature ornate wristwatch for the Queen of Naples.

Wristwatches as a decoration and a purely feminine accessory appeared in 1911.

Men paid attention to this accessory thanks to the Brazilian balloonist Alberto Santos-Dumont.

Photo 16 – Cartier’s first men’s wristwatch of the “Santos” series.

In 1901, Louis Cartier created the Santos model for him. And watches received recognition and mass “introduction” into the everyday life of gentlemen after the First World War.

Mechanical watches - gifts

Mechanical watches quickly gained popularity among European royal houses.

They became desirable offerings, objects of admiration, fascinated by the miniature nature of the mechanism, stunning functionality, originality of decorations.

The unique Peacock watch by master James Cox was bought by Potemkin as a gift to Empress Catherine II.

Photo 17 - “Peacock” watch by master James Cox

Every hour a whole performance was performed, which began with the “awakening” of the owl. She continuously moved her head, paws, and rolled her eyes to the melodic ringing of bells. The royal peacock bowed its head and spread its tail, symbolizing the rays of the sun. The bird slowly turned around its axis. From this angle, the silver surface of the feathers represented the night. The ceremony ended with the crow of a rooster.

Photo 18 - an hour disk with numbers rotated in the slot of the mushroom cap

And the time was counted by numbers on the slot in the cap of the largest mushroom. What a surprise.

The meter-high mantel clock was made in the workshop of the famous jeweler Carl Faberge, dating back to 1891.

Photo 19 – mantel clock by jeweler Carl Faberge, 1891.

This amazing gift from members royal family was ordered for the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of Emperor Alexander III.

The pocket watch was presented to singer Fyodor Chaliapin by Emperor Nicholas II.

Photo 20 - pocket watch - a gift from Emperor Nicholas II.

The most unusual watches in the world are watches made by Russian craftsmen.

Photo 21 – a watch with a wooden mechanism made by craftsmen from the Bronnikov dynasty.

The operating absolutely unique watches with a wooden mechanism, made by Russian craftsmen from the Bronnikov dynasty, inspire delight. Each structural element is made of different breeds wood The hands and dial are carved from mahogany or boxwood, the axles are made from bamboo, the body and gears are made from birch. The watch has no analogues in the world.

Scientists found the first mention of the so-called mechanical watch in ancient Byzantine texts - it dates back to 578.

The design of the first mechanical watches was simple. Weights on a rope wound around
horizontal shaft, the arrows were lowered and moved using gears.

Mechanical watches revolutionized the way of telling time. They were perfected over five centuries.

The clock mechanism itself was very large, so the first clocks were placed on towers. In the 11th century In Western Europe, tower iron mechanical clocks with one hand and a bell chime, driven by a massive weight, appeared. At sunrise, they were placed at 0 o'clock. In winter, a heavy weight was hung on a chain, and in summer, a light one. The heavier the weight, the faster, overcoming the friction of the wheels, this winding clock without a pendulum went. The watchman corrected them by the sundial several times a day.

In 1288, the iron tower Westminster chimes were already in use. The dials of that period had only one hand - the hour hand; these clocks struck a bell every hour

The clock of Strasbourg Cathedral was a marvel of medieval technology. They were installed in 1354 and a little later connected to a bell that chimed every hour. On the clock, in addition to the dial with the arrow, there is also a whole planetarium: a rotating starry sky, calendar and zodiac with planets moving across it. The clocks did not yet have precise pendulum control, and they had to be periodically corrected using a sundial.

In 1510, the German mechanic Henlein adapted a steel spring to the clock mechanism and made the first pocket watch. They had a round shape, the case was decorated with intricate patterns, which is why such watches were called “Nuremberg eggs”. Wealthy people acquired such small watches with many wheels; they could be carried in a wallet.

Introduction of spring drive at the beginning of the 16th century. significantly expanded the possibilities of using mechanical watches. This type of drive still prevails in mass-produced watches.

Then the pendulum was invented. The next step forward was the anchor mechanism. In 1657, the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, having studied the properties of the pendulum, made a mechanical clock with a pendulum.

He proposed using a torsion pendulum - a balancer with a spiral - as a oscillation regulator. The pendulum swings right and left, not allowing the wheel to move more than one tooth with each swing. Later, watches with minute and second hands were invented. The accuracy of the watches increased many times, but it was still impossible to transport such watches.

Modern version clock with weights and pendulum.

Unfortunately, mechanical wheel clocks worked properly only on land, and until then, sailors used hourglasses - “flasks”. The sea clock was made in the 18th century by the Yorkshire joiner J. Harrison. The chronometer was tested by Captain James Cook, who thanks to it compiled a map of the Polynesian islands.