In ancient China, there were sundials, water bells, fire bells, copper pots dripping water and so on, which can only be regarded as ancient timepieces. Without a clock that doesn't tick, it can't be called a clock 1090, Su Song, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, presided over the construction of the water transport instrument, with a daily error of only one second. And it has an escapement mechanism, which can make a ticking sound when working. This is the difference between a clock and a timer. The international watch industry regards the escapement as the heart of the watch. In Switzerland, he found an authoritative work in the world of clocks and watches, which wrote: "The escapement mechanism used in modern mechanical clocks originated from the invention of Su Song in ancient China." Later, in a book by Joseph Needham, a famous British historian of science and technology, he found a passage: "Su Song has been completely successful in principle since he combined horological machinery with astronomical observation instruments. He is six centuries ahead of robert hooke, for example, with Philip? Together with Hooke, he is considered by the west as the inventor of astronomical clock? Seven and a half centuries later. " Because Jiao Da foolishly knew the decisive role of escapism in the invention of clocks and watches, he read the book "The New Instrument and Image Law" written by Su Song after field investigation and consulting a large number of information on water transport instruments, and found the words of western authorities as circumstantial evidence, boldly asserting that China people created the history of human clocks and watches and influenced the progress of western clocks and watches later.

The origin of clocks and watches

The ancient people lived a simple life and had nothing to do except eat, fish, hunt and make tools, so they worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, so there was no need to fight for time. Then when human beings live in groups and have transactions, it is just' Japan and China are the market, and transactions retreat'. Later, personnel became more and more complicated, especially after the rise of agriculture, and human beings gradually realized the importance of time. The concept of time varies with the degree of human civilization, from the early "immediate effect" to measuring time with a standard watch or sundial, to the invention of "missing engraving" which requires accurate time measurement, and to the invention of the water clock later, which drives the shaft or makes the gear run by increasing the weight of dripping water. It was not until the 11th century that the mechanical clock officially appeared. The mechanical clock used a heavy hammer instead of water as the power to drive the gears to run.

The legend of the invention of the watch is that the locksmith in Nuremberg (the industrial capital of northern Germany) made it as big as an egg in the16th century, so it was called "Nuremberg egg". Watch parts themselves contain power, and they are completely handmade, with the improvement of the system, so the styles of things made are different.

Swiss clocks and watches

Switzerland is called "the kingdom of clocks and watches". Its watch industry has ruled the world for two and a half centuries, and it still maintains the first position in the world.

Switzerland's watch industry originated in a small village between the valley and basin of the Gnome mountain range on the Franco-Swiss border with Geneva as the center. As early as the15th century, jewelers and goldsmiths in Geneva began to make watches. 160165438+1October 20th, the Geneva authorities formally approved the establishment of the world's first watch trade association. At that time, there were only about 300 watchmakers in Geneva, with an annual output of about 5,000 watches. By the middle of the18th century, a large number of watchmakers had gathered in Geneva. They often set up shops on the ground floor facing the street to attract customers and made and repaired watches in a quiet place on the top floor.

Geneva's experience of relying on the prosperity of clocks and watches inspired farmers and herdsmen deep in the dwarf mountains, and they also began to make gears, springs and clockwork. Some local youths have studied in cities such as Geneva for more than ten years or even decades, and then returned to their hometowns to start their own handicraft workshops. Together with Qi Xin, they are determined to build the best parts in the world and assemble the most complicated and precise clocks and watches.

The severe challenge faced by the Swiss watch industry occurred in the early 20th century 19. With the deepening of the industrial revolution, standardized mass production invented by Americans swept the world. It seems that only American-style big factories can make enough profits to survive, but small Swiss watch workshops have finally found a way to adapt to modern industrial society. It is through the unified design and mass production of professional parts companies such as movement, strap and case that the expensive value of watches and clocks is reduced to the level that ordinary consumers can bear. Coupled with those skilled craftsmen and small watch factories with unique styles, the purchased parts are modified and customized into special parts, so that the Swiss watch industry can be integrated with those famous watches, while American watches, which have been in mass production, appear menacing because of the lack of product support of various grades and prices.