Created by the students in Microtechnics at Charles Poncet high School, 2019
Armillary Sphere
My name is Leonardo and this is Evan. Please welcome to the watchmaking museum! There are many presentations of old clocks and today we will start and focus on this object : the armillary sphere.
In Antiquity it is thought that the earth is at the center of the solar system. Although this sphere is wrong, we still produce it today for decoration.
It is an armillary sphere that contains the moon, the sun and in the center there is the planet Earth. And all around there is the structure of the sphere called "armillas". Formally, this same sphere was used to show the movement of the stars, the sun and the moon around Earth.
The armillary sphere aimed to project the inclination plan of an observer uses the midday sun as a reference for the stars that appear and are placed on the horizon at dusk and dawn ( this is Ptolemy's theory ).
The armillary sphere is the symbol of the Portuguese empire. It was found in the courts and above many libraries...
Leonardo and Evan
The sundial
The sundial is an astronomical tool used in very ancient times. This is an observation of solar shadow that divides the day. The first trace of the sundial dates back to the Egyptian period around 2000 B-C.
The sundials are instruments whose role is to tell the time from the position of the sun. We find this process used in Antiquity by the shadow of obelisks but there is an other way to read the time.
The expansion corresponds to the development of watchmaking between the 6th and the 18th century.
This is a paradox that they developed at the same moment. But it is normal because the clocks were not very precise at the time and required a daily reset that could be done with a sundial.
How to read the time on a dial ?
Look for the north so that the table is facing south.
There is a multitude of sundials but the principle remains the same :project the shadow of on object on to a graduated support to deduce time.
A fixed hand properly oriented projects the shade when there is sun- on a divided flat surface that marks the hours.
But sundials have some problems. It is not precise. It does not give minutes. It is not transportable - even if there are some exceptions. It is also a local clock that can not move from one place to another.
Amine and Matthieu
Clock Tower
Hi everyone ! My name is Kevin and my name is Alexandre . Today we are going to talk about the Clock Tower .
Clock Tower appears at the end of the thirteenth century in precise area between : Milan in Italy, Nuremberg in Germany, London in England and Paris in France .
The monks were the ones who invented that type of mechanism. The watchmaking mechanics connects 3 jobs of the Middle Age : blacksmith, locksmith and gunsmith.
At the beginning, the tower clock didn’t have a dial. Then dials appear, they are decorated and they have only one hand : the one for the hours. A clock tower works in four steps :
1- Create a energy source thanks to the fall of a rock.
2- Transmit this energy source thanks to the gear wheels and cog gear.
3- Once the energy goes into the machine, you need to regulate, for the clock to be the most precise possible . The pendulum is somehow the conductor of the mechanism.
4- Keep a stable speed thanks to the escapement wheel.
Thanks for listening and did you enjoy our exibition ?
Kévin and Alexandre
The hourglass
Hi,how are you ? Is the visit is going well? We are talking now about the hourglass. It is an object to measure time. This hourglass is specialized for the boat. It is used a lot by sailors. At that time, sea hourglass is much more accurate than a mechanical clock.Do you know what is inside the hourglass here? It’s egg shell or marble powder. This method was created in the 14th Century. The hourglass is a device that is used to measure time thanks to a flow of fine sand.
Marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is used on the sea to stay on your path. It is an object of high precision. The marine chronometer starts to be really used at the beginning of the second half of 18th century. The chronometer was hugely used at the end of the 19th century by sailors. The English creator, John Harisson is considered as the real inventor of marine chronometer.
Escapements collection
Definition of escapements : Do you know what is an escapement ?
An escapement helps to move the regulating element of : a watch, a clock or a pendulum.
All escapements here were created by students of national high school of clockmakers in Cluses. They were created between 1880 and 1920. There are 35. This collection is one of the richest in the world.
They are all different . Can you imagine that there are 35 ways to « tick-tock »?
Well, yes because there are 400 systems of escapements. Yes it's huge and it for just one reason. Which one ? « The precision ». So can we find 400 types of escapement today in a watch? Well, no… Today only 2 systems are used in our watches...
The anchor escapement
Do you know what is an anchor escapement ? All the anchor escapement are in this show case.
The anchor escapement has been created in the 18th century and there are a lot of different types that exist. The first anchor escapement was created by Thomas Mudge in 1754 for a watch for the King George III. The setting of this watch being very difficult he decided to stop the fabrication of this escapement : Just one copy was created...ever! For 100 years the anchor ecapement was the best ever created.
The tourbillon escapement
The tourbillon escapement was imagined by Abraham Louis BREGUET and patented on June 26, 1801. It's a special mechanism with all the parts inside that move. This is an ingenious system and a great example of skillfulness that clockmakers need to have.
Thanks for listening to us and now we let you go the next presentation ! :)
Joao and Thibault
Evolution of the watch
Hello , welcome to museum of watchmaking , today I will present you the egg of Nuremberg , Onion watch (which is on the picture here) and the definition. The watch since the 16th century is a portable device that serves to indicate time even when you walk.
The egg of Nuremberg was created in the 16th century by French and German people. Here you can see the oldest piece of the museum ( n*7). We have here only the mecanism, it is brass. It is voluminous and very imprecise and has only the hour hand. At this time , the watch is worm around the neck , it is said that we wear it « the pendant » way . They are rare and expensive .
Then we will talk about onion watches (n*8). These are watches that were made in the 17th century. They are typical of French watchmaking . The watches have their name thanks to their shape. They always have a single hand and we wear it at the waist. At the beginning of the 17th century the production of these watches is primarily French . From the second half of the 17th century production becomes English. Why such a change ? It’s a bit because of Louis 14. By the edict of Fontainebleau signed October 18, 1685 , Louis 14 revived the persecutions against Protestants. As many French clockmakers were protestant , they chose to go into exile , especially in England and Switzerland. The English watches of that time were much more precise than the French ones .And above all, they will bring an innovation in the reading of the hour, the watches with the minute hand. The clock becomes a watch after the invention of the spring by the gunsmiths since 1440. Since 1910 the watch is worn on the wrist.
The pocket watch : this watch is more flat than the previous one now they have all 2 hands. About the creator: He is a french former watchmaker, his name is Jean-Antoine Leépine. He will give to the watch its modern shape. To do that, he took off a platine in the watchmaking mechanics. during the 18th century You can wear the watch in a poket or at the waist. If you wear this at the waist plan to wear two .And if you dont have enough money, you can have a fake one .
Pocket watch since the 19th century: these watches are made in gold. We can see that it dates back to the 19th century because they have no winding stem. This is a luxury watch with its gold housing .It has silver dials and its hand are bluish.
The skull watch: this type of watches are also called «Momento Mori » (Remember that you are going to die) and it appeared in the 17th century. Its shape of a human skull represents the human vanity.
Railway regulator : This is the largest watch size. The watchmakers call this « poêle à frire » (fry pan) and of course you can not wear it .This is an office watch. It includes several indications: a triple date (indicates : day of the week, date and month) with phase of the moon. We say that it is a watch with complications.
Complication watches
Hello my name is Mathéo. The national school of Cluses was founded in 1848. It was intended to offer quality training to the watchmakers of the valley.
Students could enter school at 14 years old,the teaching lasted 3 years provided that they had a good level.
This third showcase presents the exercises of final year among which are the watches with complication. The watches that have a ring are called striking watch.
The ring is one of the first complication watch, it is found in watches of the 16th century. It can ring hours, quarters and 5 minutes.
Hello my name is Leo. I will show you the complication watches. Before I start I have one question for you ? How is the visit ?
I will tell you about double date watches. But what it is? It is watches that give several information at the same time. For example the temperature, the date and one chronometer. Now look at the chronographe watch which has a hand for hours, minutes and seconds.
A chronographe is a tool that measures time nowadays it is called chronometer but it is mistake. A chronometer is a complication.
Thanks you for your listening to us !
Regulator signed
Hello , what did you think of the presentation of the other groups ? If you have any question you can ask and interrupt us. So we are going to talk about this clock: its name is regulator signed.
Made in the 19th century by Simon vissière .The visible pendulum is typical of the 19th century clock because it is simply beautiful . First of all we can see that this clock has hours hand,minutes is beetwin the hours and second . Which is very precise for the seconds . We hear a faster tick tock than the other. Listen well. It is because the pendulum is small.
Down we can see the big dial this gives the months and take into account the months of 30 and 31 days. Do you think this clock take into account the leap year ?
Yes it takes into account the leap year. The leap year exists because the days don’t do exactly 24h so every 4 years we do rectify by adding 1 day more.
We have two small dials too, one is for the day and the other for the date. What do you think of where we see the blue and white ? This place corresponds to the different phases of the moon we can distinguish this because the white part shows the moon and gives an indication of the moon position. Do you have any question ?
Aymen and Dylan
9.Cartel Louis XV :
Hello,my name is Ilario and I will present you the cartel Louis XV.I will start with a simple question and you will try to answer. Did you know what is the historical period of this Cartel? (the answer is 18th century)
This is one of the most ancient of this room, all parts are original except the spring and the escapement wheel.
The IV is not written with V but like IIII, there are lots of explanations but there is one who is the most probable...Do you have idea?
The old clockmackers think the IV is vulgar and they refuse to use this on the cartel.
Did you now why the old clockmacker chose IIII for cartel? The old clockmacker enjoy the IIII because they love its esthetics.
This Cartel is very expensive.Do you know how much it cost? This clock is about the same price as a nice car!
The mysterious clock
The mysterious clock gets its name because of the way it works, this type of pendulum was invented in eighteen forty by the French mechanics and watchmaker André Romain Guillemet. In your opinion, how does the pendulum swing at the end of the statue’s arm ? It’s a magical operation ! It’s a big illusion, the statue moves but it moves so little that we do not see it to the naked eye, it turns on itself about three hundredth of millimeters for each movement. Guillemet did not just invent the mysterious clock, it is he, who is at the origin of the bike chain. Anaya Ghouaibia
The inclined-plane clock
The inclined-plane clock was invented in the 17th century. How does the inclined-plane clock work? The clock stands on the inclined plane. How is it standing but is inclined? The internal clock and the dial of the clock are weighted so that it hangs vertically. How much time does is take to go down? In 1 week it arrives at the bottom. How does the clock come back up?Nothing is simpler you just need to put it back on top with your hands.
Bilel Bouraoui
Hello, my name is Océane.
Well, we all agree that the visit is perhaps a bit long and you want to leave far from these tick-tock so I’ll do it quickly to set you free. But my English is far from perfect I’m so sorry.
I will explain to you the story of the master clock. So, the master clock it’s a clock created in 1897 by Charles Poncet. Master Clock is used to distribute the same time to all clocks in the city including that of the town hall in Cluses and the high school.
Every minute, the master clock sends an electrical pulse which allows all the clocks to stay set at the same hour. It winds up every 15 minutes thanks to a mercury contact. This will trigger the motor that will raise a spring. The master clock was presented at the Paris World Fair in 1900.
The same system was used for trains.The first train lines in France were developed in 1840. The problem is that each city had its time because the clocks were set with the sundial. Not easy to run a train from Paris to Lyon ! The trains in France were on Paris time but on a worldwide scale it was complicated.
In 1885, at a conference in Washington, a vote was made to set the time of the world to the Greenwich meridian.
Well, it's over, thank you for your attention. I hope you enjoyed! Do not hesitate to come back to the museum.
Thank you goodbye ! <3
The electric clock
Hello, I will introduce you the electric clock. All clocks presented in this room are all unique pieces. They were realised by the students of the national watchmaking and Charles Poncet himself when he opened the electric clock section in 1893. Creating electric clocks is like an exercise for them.
The electric clock is a clock in which elecricity acts like a motor to wind up a weight or arm periodically a spring, usually by an electro motor or an electro magnet.
The electric power can be provided by a battery, accumulator or an industrial power. The galette pendulum in French "la pendule a galette" works by electromagnetic force. Then a battery sends electricity into a copper coil.
How it works ? In mechanics is a star-shaped wheel called ratchet-wheel. By turning it will make contact with a lever that alternately will let the power go its tick tock seconds...What will maintain the oscillation of the pendulum? So the pendulum of this type of clock can do two actions in mechanics :create an alternative power source ; regulate watchmaking mechanics by its constant oscillation.
Tanguy and Lenny
Credits:
Created by the students in Microtechnics of Charles Poncet High school. Created with images by MHD Cluses except "pendule mystérieuse" : Frédéric Boiteux - Cluses image numérique