Watchmaker Vs Clockmaker
We all think that Clockmakers and Watchmakers are the same! But after you read this think again!
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. A contemporary, well-trained clockmaker today is more likely to be able to repair a clock than to actually build or manufacture a clock from scratch. In the strict sense of the word Clockmaker should only be used to somebody who makes clocks, while other should more properly refer to as “Clockrepairers”. A qualified Clockmakers can typically design a missing piece for a clock without access to the original component and manufacture many of the parts found in a clock.
A clockmaker, as the name implies, works primarily on clocks, not watches. Some clockmakers work on watches, but the skills and tools needed to work on a clock are not always applicable when working on a watch.
Due to the technical skills required for making and repairing clocks, clockmakers occasionally delve into other areas with similar aspects, ranging from items that involve gears, to minor or high precision metalworking, to something else completely different. In a very famous example, the harmonica was invented by a young German clockmaker, which was then mass produced by another clockmaker, Matthias Hohner. Historically the best clockmakers were often also building other scientific instruments, as for a long time they were the only craftsmen around trained in designing precision mechanical apparatus. From the 15th to the 17th century clock making was considered the “leading edge”, most technically advanced trade existing.
Movado is part of both groups as they make clocks as well as watches!
And now for Watch Makers
Watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. A modern watchmaker is more likely to repair a wristwatch or a pocket watch than to actually create a watch from scratch. A skilled watchmaker can typically manufacture many of the parts found in a watch.
A watchmaker, as the name implies, works primarily on watches, not clocks. Some watchmakers work on clocks, but the skills and tools needed to work on a watch are not always applicable when working on a clock.
Historically, in England, watchmakers would have to undergo a seven-year apprenticeship and then join a guild, such as the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London, before selling their first watch. In modern times watchmakers undergo training courses such as WOSTEP.
Watchmaker can also be a metaphor
William Paley and others used the watchmaker in his famous analogy to infer the existence of God (the teleological argument).
Richard Dawkins later applied this analogy in his book The Blind Watchmaker, arguing that evolution is blind in that it cannot look forward. Evolution, says Dawkins, is not directed by god(s). Instead, all intricate improvements in nature’s mechanisms stem from survival pressures.
Alan Moore in his seminal graphic novel Watchmen uses the metaphor of the watchmaker as a central part of the back story of his heroic character Dr. Manhattan.
In the scifi novel The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven, the Watchmakers are a small technologically intelligent sub-species of the Moties that will repair/improve things you leave out for them (accompanied by food as payment).
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Tags: GoldWatches, Movado, Watch, Watches
