![\"history](\"https:\/\/www.firstclasswatches.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1024px-Sundial_2r.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn the earliest days of the history of timekeeping, people kept time by observing the stars. At that time it was useful to track time in order to plan – but there was no need for accurate, measured time. But as society changed \u2013so did the requirements for measuring time.<\/p>\n
The earliest known timekeeping device was the sundial<\/a> which allowed people to track local solar time using a light spot or shadow cast by the position of the sun. The earliest discovered sundials were ancient Egyptian shadow clocks dating back to around 1500BC. Sundials were regularly used after their introduction and you can still see many sundials around today. The oldest sundial in England is the one built into the Bewcastle Cross in Bewcastle, Cumbria and dates back to the early 8th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n The water clocks and hourglass followed as methods of measuring time. The hourglass is something you\u2019ll still see around today in the form of egg timers but water clocks were a bit more interesting. These were marked containers filled with water \u2013 water dripped out of It allowing people to measure the time by the level of water against the markings.<\/p>\n These were the methods of time most commonly used up until a massive step forward in the history of timekeeping in the 14th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n In the 1300\u2019s mechanical clocks<\/a> using weights and springs started to appear.\u00a0 The early clocks didn\u2019t have a clock face \u2013 they simply chimed a bell every time an hour passed. Over time hour hands appeared, followed by minute hands. But these clocks were notoriously unreliable and sundials were still important as they were needed to help reset the times of the clocks \u2013 which could be off by about 15 minutes per day.<\/p>\n In the next century the discovery that coiled springs could be as used to move the hands on a lock allowed clock makers to make smaller clocks (and, eventually, watches). Then, in 1656 the pendulum clock was invented, allowing for much more accurate timekeeping. Pendulum clocks were only off by about a minute a day \u2013 a huge step forward.<\/p>\n The British parliament played a huge role in the next advance in the history of timekeeping. They offered a large cash reward to anybody who could invent a clock which was accurate enough to be used at sea. Sailors often died because they could not find their exact location, being able to do so meant that they needed to know the precise time. For each minute lost by a clock there would be a navigational error of 15 miles \u2013 meaning many sailors died after smashing into rocks or becoming completely lost at sea. After 4 attempts, John Harrison claimed the cash reward<\/a> by inventing a small clock which was accurate enough for use at sea \u2013 this clock only lost 5 seconds in over 6 weeks.<\/p>\n Some of the biggest steps forward in clocks becoming widespread in society were the inventions by Eli Terry<\/a>. These inventions allowed for mass production of clock parts which were exactly alike \u2013 allowing for cheaper clock production. Clocks started to become more widespread in society as more people could afford at least one timekeeping device thanks to the cheaper prices.<\/p>\n As clocks became cheaper to maker, smaller and easier to produce, the idea of more portable clocks started to become a reality. First came pocket watches<\/a> and then came wrist watches. It\u2019s not known exactly when the first wrist watch was invented, but the story goes that it was invented when a small pocket watch was attached to a strap which could be worn on the wrist.<\/p>\n Early wrist watches were exclusively worn by women, but they were incredibly useful during the First World War as it was important for precise time to be kept for missions. When men returned from the war they continued to wear these wrist watches, which started to make them socially acceptable.<\/p>\n During the 20th<\/sup> century precise timekeeping was absolutely essential and the next big step forward in precision was the use of quartz in clocks and watches<\/a>. This step forward made for ultra-precise watches with incredibly cheap production costs.<\/p>\n Now almost everyone could own a wrist watch and this was the first time \u2013 in history of time \u2013 that keeping convenient and accurate time became open to anyone.<\/p>\n The next revolution in timekeeping has yet to take place, but on these pages we will be looking forward to 2017 and beyond over the next month. Perhaps we will find out what the future of the history of timekeeping will be!<\/p>\n Images: liz west<\/a>,\u00a0Postelwijn,\u00a0blue_quartz<\/a>,\u00a0Tomasz Sienicki<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The History of Timekeeping The history of timekeeping is a very immersive subject. It\u2019s practically impossible to think about a world where we don\u2019t keep accurate time but in reality…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[508,506,507,39],"yoast_head":"\nThe Mechanical Clock Revolution<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMass Production and Wrist Watches<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nQuartz Precision<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n