Page 143 - Inventions - A Visual Encyclopedia (DK - Smithsonian)

A more accurate clock
Terry balance wheel
skeleton clock from ■ What? Pendulum clock
the 19th century ■ Who? Christiaan Huygens
■ Where and when? The Netherlands, 1657
A physicist, astronomer, and
mathematician, Christiaan Huygens also
invented the pendulum clock. Until then,
the best clocks were accurate to about
15 minutes a day, whereas the pendulum
clock was accurate to about 15 seconds.

Model based on the design of COMMUNICATION
Huygens’s first pendulum clock

Electric watch

■ What? Hamilton Electric 500 The Hamilton Electric 500 was the first
■ Who? Hamilton Watch Company battery-operated electric wristwatch and
■ Where and when? US, 1957 the first never to need winding. It was
marketed as the watch of the future and
Using weights issued in several suitably modern
designs, including the shield-shaped
■ What? Balance wheel Ventura (left).
■ Who? Unknown
■ Where and when? Europe, 17th century Hamilton “Ventura”
The balance wheel is a weighted device electric watch
that swings back and forth, winding and
unwinding a spring in a constant cycle.
Each swing of the balance wheel creates
a tick or a beat and drives the gears that Digital watch
make the hands move one position.
■ What? Hamilton Pulsar P1
■ Who? Hamilton Watch Company
■ Where and when? US, 1972
Luxury watch brand Hamilton was the
first to release a digital display watch, in
1972. It was ridiculously expensive, but
WOW! then the case was Smartwatch
18 carat gold.
Early wristwatches were Cheaper, mass- What? TrueSmart
designed as jewelry for market versions ■ ■ Who? Omate
women. The first was soon followed. ■ Where and when? US, 2013
probably made for an
The first smartwatch to have all the
aristocrat some time in functions of a smartphone was the
the mid-19th century. TrueSmart, which appeared in early 2013.

Since then, many larger companies have
Seiko 06LC launched smartwatches, including
digital watch
from 1973 Samsung, Sony, and Apple.

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