MECHANICAL CLOCK

Though the modern clock has been around for only just over 600 years, time-keeping devices have had a presence in our lives since they were first created by our ancestors in the birthplace of modern civilisation – Babylon. By giving us the means to track time, build schedules, and control the flow of our daily routine, clocks managed to forge the modern civilization that we are living today.

Historical records of the first manmade clocks are dated to the 3500 BC when Ancient Egyptian builders started erecting tall obelisks near their temples and royal residences. These tall stone structures served the purpose of casting a sun shadow on the precisely decorated spirals that were set on the ground (often carved into walkways) where people could easily see the position of the shadow and the current time of the day.

Even though initial sundial models were created in Babylon, Egyptian scientists took that invention and advanced its use and precision over a period of over 3,000 years, during which they discovered winter solstice, summer solstice, the separation of daytime into hours and much more.

However, sundials remained sparsely used in continental Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. There, they were mostly used by government, commerce and churches. This situation changed with the arrival of the Renaissance and expansion of science, manufacture, and commerce with distant Middle Eastern and Asian lands.

After new knowledge of mechanical clocks from China and Islamic lands came to Europe, the art of mechanical clock making slowly started to spread. By the late 14th century, various clock designs started appearing across England, France, Italy and Germany.

In the late 1600s, pocket watches for men came into popularity, and remained in constant use for almost 250 years, before they were totally replaced by wrist watches which quickly conquered the world after the end of World War I. Today, modern watches are made in both analogue mechanical form and in digital form, and can be found almost everywhere you look.