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It has been suggested that Chronometry be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2013. |
Horology (from Template:Lang-el hṓr|a "hour; time" + -o- interfix + suffix -logy; lit. the study of time) is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, 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 most accurate time-keeping.
People interested in horology are called horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatus (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as aficionados and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organizations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies.
Horological museums and libraries
Horology has a long history and there are many museums and several specialized libraries devoted to the subject. An example is the Royal Greenwich Observatory, which is also the source of the Prime Meridian (longitude 0° 0' 0"), and the home of the first marine timekeepers accurate enough to determine longitude (made by John Harrison). Other horological museums in the London area include the Clockmakers' Museum, and the horological collections at the British Museum, the Science Museum (London) and at the Wallace Collection.
One of the more comprehensive museums dedicated to horology is the Musée international d'horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). The Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle is a bit smaller but located nearby. One of the better horological museums in Germany is the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. The two leading specialised horological museums in North America are the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut.
An example of a museum devoted to one particular type of clock is the Cuckooland Museum, in the U. K., which hosts the world's largest collection of antique cuckoo clocks.
One of the most comprehensive horological libraries open to the public is the National Watch and Clock Library in Columbia, PA (USA). Other good horological libraries providing public access are at the Musée international d'horlogerie in Switzerland, at the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum in Germany, and at the Guildhall Library in London.
Another museum dedicated to clocks is the Willard House and Clock Museum in Grafton, Massachusetts.
Horological organizations
The leading scholarly horological organizations are:
- American Watch Guild - AWG
- American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute - AWCI (United States of America)
- Antiquarian Horological Society - AHS (United Kingdom)
- Association Française des Amateurs d'Horlogerie Ancienne - AFAHA (France)
- British Horological Institute - BHI (United Kingdom)
- Chronometrophilia (Switzerland)
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie - DGC (Germany)
- Hora Associazione Italiana Cultori di Orologeria Antica (Italy)
- National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors - NAWCC (United States of America)
World Exhibitions
- BaselWorld
- Geneva Time Exhibition
- Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH)
List of horological terms
Term | Explanation |
---|---|
Chablon | French term for a watch movement (not including the dial and hands), of which all or part of the components are not assembled. |
Ébauche | French term (but commonly used in English-speaking countries) for a movement blank, i.e. an incomplete watch movement which is sold as a set of loose parts, comprising the main plate, the bridges, the train, the winding and setting mechanism and the regulator. The timing system, the escapement and the mainspring, however, are not parts of the "ébauche" |
Établissage | French term for the method of manufacturing watches and/or movements by assembling their various components. It generally includes the following operations: receipt, inspection and stocking of the "ébauche", the regulating elements and the other parts of the movement and of the make-up; assembling; springing and timing; fitting the dial and hands; casing; final inspection before packing and dispatching. |
Établisseur | French term for a watch factory which is engaged only in assembling watches, without itself producing the components, which it buys from specialist suppliers. |
Factory, works | In the Swiss watch industry, the term manufacture is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely, as distinct from an "atelier de terminage", which is concerned only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing. |
Manufacture d'horlogerie | French term for a watch factory which itself produces the components (particularly the "ébauche") needed for the manufacture of its products (watches, alarm and desk clocks, etc.). |
Terminage | French term denoting the process of assembling watch parts for the account of a producer. |
Termineur | French term for an independent watchmaker (or workshop) engaged in assembling watches, either wholly or in part, for the account of an "établisseur" or a "manufacture", who supply the necessary loose parts. See "atelier de terminage" above. |
See also
References
- "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
- B.Pourchet (1981-09-21). "afaha.com". afaha.com. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
- "hora.it" (in Template:It icon). hora.it. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Geneva Time Exposition - official website
- Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie - official website
Further reading
- Beckett, Edmund, A Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks, Watches and Bells, 1903, from Project Gutenberg
- Berner, G.A., Illustrated Professional Dictionary of Horology, Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH 1961 - 2012
- Daniels, George, Watchmaking, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 1981 (reprinted June 15, 2011)
- Grafton, Edward, Horology, a popular sketch of clock and watch making, London: Aylett and Jones, 1849
- Perman, Stacy, A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World's Most Legendary Watch, Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), February 2013. ISBN 9781439190081
External links
- American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute
- BHI - The British Horological Institute
- Tendance Horlogerie: Watches Portal in french and english versions
- Horological Portal
- Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
- Musée d'horlogerie du Locle (Château des Monts)
- Musée International d'Horlogerie
- NAWCC: National Association of Watch & Clocks Collectors (USA)
- Horology Patents
- Application horlogère
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