The Museum of Time Catalogue

The Museum of Time is the United Kingdom’s national museum of time, horology, timekeeping and clockmaking- based in London, the heart of early clockmaking in Europe. Our museum is home to one of the oldest collections of clocks and horological items in the world, spanning the history of time and timekeeping and available to discover for free at the Science Museum in London. With pieces from before time as we know it today, prepare to be taken back in time and experience how it has evolved through the ages. Our free, immersive exhibition is interesting for all ages . Our recent redevelopment has created a more up to date, immersive experience- with a packed calendar of talks, workshops and school holiday programs, there’s always something new to see or do at the Museum of Time.

Sumerians developed the current sexagesimal system of time measurement. Time was measured in many different methods: Obelisks were water clocks used by the Ancient Greeks, Persians and the Egyptians. A similar device was used by the Zhou Dynasty from Mesopotamia. The Candle clock was used in Ancient China, ancient Japan, England and Mesopotamia. The Timestick was widely used in Persia, India and Tibet, as well as throughout Europe. Sundials had been used for timekeeping since ancient Egypt and became widespread. Earliest known clock with a water powered escapement mechanism was developed in Ancient Greece. Chinese Engineers invented clocks which incorporated mercury powered escapement.

Arabic engineers invented water clocks driven by gears and weights. It is speculated the hourglass was used on board ships as far back as the 11th century, when it would have complemented the magnetic compass as an aid to navigation. From the 15th century the hourglass was used in a wide range of applications- they were the first dependable, reusable, reasonably accurate and easily constructed time measurement device. First mechanical clocks employing verge escapement mechanism with a foliot or balance wheel timekeeper invented in Europe, and became the standard timekeeping device until the pendulum clock was invented. Invention of the mainspring allowed portable clocks to be built, evolving into the first pocketwatches by the mid 17th century. These were not very accurate until the balance spring was added to the balance w heel in the mid 17th century. The pendulum clock was invented in 1656 and this remained the most accurate timekeeper until the 1930’s when quartz oscillators were invented, followed by atomic clocks after WW2. The development of microelectronics in the 1960’s made quartz clocks both cheap to produce and by the 1980’s were the world’s dominant timekeeping technology in both clocks and wristwatches.