Horology

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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

"Universal Clock" at the Clock Museum in Zacatlán, Puebla, Mexico

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.

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

External links

Time

Key concepts

Measurement
and standards

Chronometry	UTC UT TAI Unit of time Orders of magnitude (time)
Measurement systems	Italian six-hour clock Thai six-hour clock 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Relative hour Daylight saving time Chinese Decimal Hexadecimal Hindu Metric Roman Sidereal Solar Time zone
Calendars	Main types Solar Lunar Lunisolar Gregorian Julian Hebrew Islamic Solar Hijri Chinese Hindu Panchang Maya List
Clocks	Main types astronomical astrarium atomic quantum hourglass marine sundial watch mechanical stopwatch water-based Cuckoo clock Digital clock Grandfather clock History Timeline

Philosophy of time

Human experience
and use of time

Time in science

Geology	Geological time age chron eon epoch era period Geochronology Geological history of Earth
Physics	Absolute space and time Arrow of time Chronon Coordinate time Instant Proper time Spacetime Theory of relativity Time domain Time translation symmetry Time reversal symmetry
Other fields	Chronological dating Chronobiology Circadian rhythms Clock reaction Glottochronology Time geography

v t e Time measurement and standards
Chronometry Orders of magnitude Metrology
International standards	Coordinated Universal Time offset UT ΔT DUT1 International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service ISO 31-1 ISO 8601 International Atomic Time 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Barycentric Coordinate Time Barycentric Dynamical Time Civil time Daylight saving time Geocentric Coordinate Time International Date Line IERS Reference Meridian Leap second Solar time Terrestrial Time Time zone 180th meridian
Obsolete standards	Ephemeris time Greenwich Mean Time Prime meridian
Time in physics	Absolute space and time Spacetime Chronon Continuous signal Coordinate time Cosmological decade Discrete time and continuous time Proper time Theory of relativity Time dilation Gravitational time dilation Time domain Time-translation symmetry T-symmetry
Horology	Clock Astrarium Atomic clock Complication History of timekeeping devices Hourglass Marine chronometer Marine sandglass Radio clock Watch stopwatch Water clock Sundial Dialing scales Equation of time History of sundials Sundial markup schema
Calendar	Gregorian Hebrew Hindu Holocene Islamic (lunar Hijri) Julian Solar Hijri Astronomical Dominical letter Epact Equinox Intercalation Julian day Leap year Lunar Lunisolar Solar Solstice Tropical year Weekday determination Weekday names
Archaeology and geology	Chronological dating Geologic time scale International Commission on Stratigraphy
Astronomical chronology	Galactic year Nuclear timescale Precession Sidereal time
Other units of time	Instant Flick Shake Jiffy Second Minute Moment Hour Day Week Fortnight Month Year Olympiad Lustrum Decade Century Saeculum Millennium
Related topics	Chronology Duration music Mental chronometry Decimal time Metric time System time Time metrology Time value of money Timekeeper

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