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Antique Regulator Clocks
Regulator clocks were made was to satisfy two main desires, first by the clock maker who was always striving to improve his timekeepers' accuracy and second to satisfy the needs of professionals who required much more accurate time pieces than were generally available. One such occupation was the study of the heavens, or astronomy to which the study of time was inextricably linked. One name that stands out in the quest for accuracy is that of George Graham (c1673-1751), who invented the dead-beat escapement (see below) and also the mercury pendulum and the horizontal watch escapement in the early 1700s. The dead-beat made clocks much more accurate and his mercury pendulum allowed for true temperature compensation.
These inventions gave new impetus to clock makers who could now incorporate these inventions to make their timepieces more reliable, accurate and functional. As the 1700s unfolded, others came up with more and more accurate time pieces and by the end of the Century clocks were being produced that were accurate to within seconds per day. A notable example of this is a clock made by a close friend of Graham's, Thomas Tompion (1639-1713), who made an incredibly accurate clock for use in England's Royal Observatory.
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Below is a list of current US & UK eBay auctions of Antique Regulator Clocks.
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In 1889 a company called Reifler introduced a clock that became the standard for antique regulator clocks used in observatories due to its astounding accuracy. The clock used a pendulum described as a 'free pendulum', which is one that is as free from interference as possible. This type of pendulum was used in later electric clocks which were used all over the world in observatories until the introduction of quartz clocks in the 1960s.
