Horology: The Art Of Clockwork

FREDERICTON—The subtle ticking of a clock, a whirring of a wind-up toy, both of these things have to do with horology.

Horology is the study of clockwork and is something of a unique skill.

Mostly practiced by jewelers or others suited for precise work with small components,  a horologist is most known by another term, a clockmaker.

“Generally, all the parts are darn near microscopic in nature, especially the screws,” said Martin Hann, a self-described collector, and cleaner of mechanical watches. “You are almost always working under magnification. It requires immense patience.”

The oldest known working clock is the Salisbury cathedral clock, and including its large frame, it has a total of 10 pieces.

Nowadays, clockwork has become more precise and complex.

The average wristwatch made by Rolex contains about 116 individual pieces, just to keep the hands moving.

Clockwork as we know it, with it’s moving gears and turning levers, has only existed since the 18th century, but other types of clockwork have existed for even longer.

The Antikythera mechanism, an astrological instrument found in the wreck of a ship in the Mediterranean Sea, is believed to have been made by Greek scientists in the first-century B.C.E.

Clockwork has also been mentioned in Jewish legend, where King Soloman’s throne was adorned with clockwork animals that raised him up to his divine seat.

Even in ancient Chinese history, an account exists of a clockwork figure that was created in the third-century B.C.E.

It wasn’t until the 11th century that clockwork was being used to create timepieces, using water weights and pulleys.

These uses for powering the clocks would eventually be replaced with the more common spring and pendulum mechanisms we are familiar with today, especially in grandfather clocks.

The clockwork between a watch and a clock are not all the same, despite what people might think.

Although, yes, there are balance wheels and small gears that tick, there are differences.

“Although they are both timepieces,” said Hann. “They are constructed in very different ways. The size is the biggest difference, but how the mechanism is packaged is also different.”

There is more to clockwork than its name implies, however. Orreries and windup toys are both well-known uses of clockwork and demonstrated just how diverse the uses for clockwork can be.

An orrery is a scale model of the solar system.

Often powered by clockwork, it can put into perspective the movements of the plants and their moons.

As well as give a visual representation at how orbits work.

And this idea of working with complex machines encapsulates some.

For Hann, that interest in clockwork first came when he was a child.

“When I was a kid,” said Hann. “I popped the back of a mechanical watch to watch the gears and balance wheels. The movements of all the different parts that made the hands move just captivated me.”

Technology is moving at a fast pace, however.

After the mechanical watch came the quartz watch, where most of the digital watches we have come from now.

Though even the quartz watches, which were almost impossible to repair, and were normally thrown out if they broke, are already getting outpaced.

Now, tech companies like Google and Apple are creating smartwatches. A combination of a smartphone, with the portability of a watch.

Though Hann doesn’t think that either of these new takes on an old classic will dethrone the mechanical watch.

“I think mechanical watches are going to stick around for a while,” said Hann. “Mechanical watches have moved further into the luxury market.”

It’s this move into the luxury market that gives the mechanical watch its edge over newer, more technologically sophisticated watches.

“Owning a mechanical watch becomes a symbol of status and exclusivity,” said Hann. “The idea that you have something that needs to be taken care of by an expert regularly flaunts your wealth.”

Hann also believes that the recent “return to your roots” movement that has swept across the world, where people are taking a closer look at their past with services like Ancestery.com and 23andMe, also have helped increase popularity of the mechanical watch.

Though Hann doesn’t see the improved popularity as a bad thing.

“I’d love to see people turn to things that can be repaired,” said Hann. “Rather than something you have to just throw away.”

And even as the world marches headstrong into new frontiers of technological development, it seems that an old classic might just be hanging around for a little longer.