Timepieces: Masterpieces of Chronometry

Over the centuries, clocks have slowly, methodically and inextricably come to regulate every aspect of our lives. Timepieces tells the history of clocks and how the pursuit of an ever better clock has had a remarkable influence on scientific and technological developments. The 800-year journey to a perfect clock involved the greatest thinkers, scientists and mechanical geniuses, including those who improved the accuracy of mechanical clocks to such a degree that sailors could successfully determine longitude. That advance alone resulted in an explosion of travel, commerce and political expansion that would change the world map.

Tracing the history of "the key machine of the modern industrial age" is a remarkable way to trace the histories of technology and society. Each chapter focuses on one era of the clock's growth:

• The Celestial Clock
• A Call to Prayer
• The Priceless Possession of a Few
• From Tabletop to Waistcoat and Beyond
• The Craft Era in Watchmaking
• The Industrial Revolution
• Swiss Watchmaking
• The Standardization of Time
• The Quartz Revolution

Illustrated with beautiful artworks and photographs from museums and clock collections, Timepieces is a thorough and attractive historical survey.