Chelsea Clock: Nautical Clocks

Sunday 9 September 2012

Nautical Clocks

Open-sea travel required precise timekeeping for a ship and its crew. As a ship sailed through time zones, accurate timekeeping was required to keep a ship on the correct longitude. The nautical clock is responsible for keeping an accurate measure of time and consistent time zones changes. The nautical clock became extremely important when calculating correct longitude was required. To find a clockmaker capable of making such a device, the government of England put forth a reward. Sir Isaac Newton was one of the many scientists who doubted it could be made. John Harrison took a prototype clock on a voyage from London to Lisbon in 1736, and the clock proved functional. Harrison was granted five hundred pounds to pursue further perfection of the device, and eventually created a nautical pocket watch. Five hundred pounds was granted to Harrison to pursue the perfection of his clock, and he eventually made a pocket version. In his journey to the Pacific, Captain Cook used a version of Harrison's nautical clock. At first, such clocks were far too expensive for the average person, but prices gradually dropped.