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Watchmakers & Inventors |
Living before there were watches to give time, most people relied on sun dials. This was a problem when it was raining, or in winter when the sun did not shine.
In the year 1505, Peter Henlein invented a pocket watch, although he may not have been the first.
He was fortunate to do so, as he should have been executed for an alleged murder when he was young man.
A man died in a late night brawl and Peter Henlein was alleged to be one of the attackers. He ran away and was given sanctuary in a monastery where
he experimented and made a portable watch. It was the first of its kind and he put his mark, MDV - PHN, inside the cover.
They were Roman numerals for the year and his initials with N standing for Nuremburg where he lived.
Over time, Henlein's portable watch disappeared and it was thought lost forever. Then, in 1987, a find was made. A watchmaker's apprentice on a visit to London found one by chance in a second hand sale. A Bisamapfel, or pocket watch, as it is now called was in a box of watch parts that cost him 10 pounds. The watch had missing parts, and looked beyond repair.
In 2001, he decided to replace the missing parts. He made new pinions, the crown gear and winding spring. Like a time capsule, it had crossed the centuries. Amazingly, the watch came back to life after nearly 500 years. It spoke the same language, but in an age of the digital watch. Time still moved in minutes and hours, but at a faster pace On the inside of the pomander was the mark PHN - the initials of Peter Henlein.
Click on the watchmaker below for details:
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