Watch / Clock Making

Watch / Clock Making

Anglo-Saxon times: type of candle clock invented by Alfred the Great (849-899).

  1. 1657: Anchor escapement probably invented by Robert Hooke (1635–1703).
  2. 1657: Balance spring added to balance wheel by Robert Hooke (1635–1703).
  3. 1722: Grasshopper escapement invented by John Harrison (1693–1776); Harrison created the H1, H2, H3 & H4 watches (to solve the longitude measurement problem).
  4. 1726: Gridiron pendulum invented by John Harrison (1693–1776).
  5. 1755: Lever escapement, the greatest single improvement ever applied to pocket watches, invented by Thomas Mudge (1715–1794).

1761: First true Marine chronometer perfected by John Harrison (1693–1776).

1923: Self-winding watch invented by John Harwood (1893–1964).

1955: First accurate atomic clock invented by Louis Essen (1908–1997).

1976: Coaxial escapement mechanism invented by George Daniels (1926–2011).