Soon, the clockwork technology was invented, and the size of the clock was greatly reduced. 15 10 years, German locksmiths first made pocket watches. At that time, the production of clocks and watches seemed to be limited to the sideline of locksmith. It was not until later that the accuracy of clocks and watches became higher and higher, and the skills of clocks and watches became more and more complicated, and professional watchmakers appeared.
1806, a watch specially made by Napoleon's wife and queen J. Jopifen is the earliest known watch record. This is a watch that pays attention to decoration and makes bracelets. At that time, pocket watches were very popular in men's world, and watches were regarded as women's accessories.
1885, the german navy ordered a large number of watches from Swiss watchmakers, and the practicality of watches was affirmed by the world and gradually popularized.
At the beginning of this century. The predecessor of Rolex-Wilsdorf &; Davis Company launched silver gentlemen's watches and ladies' watches, which was a great success and led watch manufacturers to compete to develop watches. Switzerland, which is famous for its pocket watch skills, also took the lead in making watches. 1926, Rolex developed a completely waterproof watch "ROLEX OYSTER", and in 193 1, it took the lead in bringing the self-winding watch "OYSTER PERPETUAL" to the market. Longines is not to be outdone, and its precision aviation clock flies across the Atlantic with American pilot Lindbergh, making it famous. 1929, CHRONOGRAPH, a watch with stopwatch function, came out, and CHRONOMETER, a precision watch for flight, was developed on this basis the following year.
At the end of 1960s, the history of mechanical watches turned a new page: 1969, Seiko Watch Company developed the world's first timely electronic watch, and the daily error was reduced to less than 0.2 seconds. 1972, Hamilton Company of the United States invented the digital display watch, and the motor and gear disappeared from the watch.
New technologies in watch manufacturing are emerging one after another, but mechanical watches have not died out. Although the output was greatly reduced, the manufacturing skills remained. Swiss watch manufacturers, in particular, still have a soft spot for mechanical watches, insisting on producing high-grade mechanical watches and exporting them to all parts of the world.
The stagnation of watchmaking technology is attributed to the invasion of Jin people in the12nd century, and the excellent ancient clocks in Su Song were destroyed. As a result, the traditional watchmaking knowledge was lost. In addition, after the Mongols entered Middle-earth, only astrology was allowed to continue to develop to protect the national luck, and all other knowledge about measuring time was ignored.
The earliest clocks and watches spread from Europe to China were introduced by Jesuit priests, who came to China as early as the middle of16th century, with the purpose of spreading Christian beliefs and establishing the kingdom of heaven. They immediately realized that they could achieve the goal of education by spreading the scientific knowledge accumulated in the west. They successfully mastered the taste of emperors, and in the next two centuries, many astronomers, doctors, painters and clockmakers were introduced to the court.
The first ocean clock was brought to China on 1582, and was dedicated to the governor of Chen Rui on1February 27th of the same year.
160 1 year, Father matteo Ritchie went to China and was treated by Emperor Wanli. Lee pays tribute to an iron clock with a driving pendant, which rings four times an hour; The clock body is placed in a wooden cabinet, which is engraved with dragon ornaments, and the eagle mouth indicates the time of writing in Chinese characters.
The popularity of foreign clocks and watches is not because China people are extremely concerned about the accuracy of time (with the technology at that time, it is not very accurate at all), but because clocks and watches are rare and novel, so they have become something that emperors and court people are scrambling to talk about for a while.
Before 19 12, China people still divided a day into "hours" (two hours), and each hour was divided into 100 time periods, each time period was one minute; The Gregorian calendar is divided into 24 hours a day, * * * one hour has 96 quarters, and each quarter is 15 minutes. It can be seen that the two are not related.
/kloc-After the 0/7th century, Jesuit priests began to make clocks with China craftsmen. Father Matteo Ricci himself and two local craftsmen built a bronze clock, which can tell the time every two hours.
1630, Alvaro thermador, a Jesuit priest who came to China for 22 years, said: "China people appreciate western mechanical technology very much. They know how to make a desk clock. If their wages are as high as those of western craftsmen, they can be more refined. " It can be seen that genius is useless without financial support.
China Palace Clock Workshop was built in Qianlong period (1736- 1795). Father Charlene, the supervisor, has nearly a hundred slaves.
Near 18 10, several reports mentioned western businessmen who were selling watches and clocks in Guangdong province at that time, saying that their business was bleak because they had to face competition from local products-they could sell them at half price.
In the18th century, the watches and clocks seen by the Qing court were exquisitely handmade and inlaid with gorgeous gems and gold, which were presented by western envoys to please the emperor. In order to win by surprise, the given watch is more precious. As a result, the more representative technology of making ocean clocks has spread in China and is widely known.
18 1 1 year, the French embassy in Beijing wrote to Napoleon. He said: "Now all foreign envoys coming to China are holding sacrifices and paying tribute. However, because the Han people failed to appreciate the mechanical works with artistic beauty, they only piled them in the palace warehouse. Our country is at war, and the gift should be made by your majesty's workshop, which is light and convenient for officials to carry.
The clock trade has always been monopolized by naval generals stationed in Guangdong province. However, due to the influx of a large number of goods, this business soon became very difficult to operate.
From 65438 to 0824, Bovett brothers went to Guangdong to do business and revived the watch industry. At that time, Wei Bao's watches were produced in Fleur, Neuchatel; Today, these places are still the center of the watchmaking industry.
1840, Wei Bao brothers took the lead in adopting the trademark name of China for their products, which was transliterated from the word "Wei Bao". Until the beginning of the 20th century, this brand was still very popular.
At the same time, people in China began to import European hairsprings, and then produced watches for daily use at reasonable prices. It is worth noting that Europe now imports a lot of watches from Asia, especially Hong Kong.
To sum up, China people were not interested in imported foreign clocks and watches at first. First, because the East and the West have different methods of calculating time; The second is that China people don't ask for accurate time like foreigners; Finally, because of traffic and climate factors, it is not conducive to fine machine operation. The attraction of the foreign clock lies in its exquisite design, beautiful appearance and expensive decoration. The court in China regards this precious gift as jewelry or something that can be moved by itself.