Grandfather Clocks Explained
Take any wrist watch today and you're sure to find that it can tell the time with pinpoint 
accuracy. In fact their performance is superior to the old grandfather clocks.
However if you have ever seen a grandfather clock up close and personal you know as well as I do that there is something about them that goes beyond telling the time.
I found this particular article to reveal a tremendous amount of additional information if you find this topic interesting.
History reveals that the European monks created the first mechanical clocks around the 13th century. Certainly a time with limited resources to accomplish so great a task.
Interestingly, there were no clock faces on the clocks the monks made. Instead they struck a bell to tell the time. Not the most convenient method but it did work.
Well eventually someone got as tired of that idea as you and I who are reading this and they figured out a way to at least add the hour hand.
So some 200 years after the monks made the first mechanical clock, they hit the mainstream throughout the 15th century.
Of course the clock was adopted by those who could afford such a luxury. The name of the clock was the lantern clock.
But shortly before the 19th century all eyes fell on Galileo who pronounced that he had discovered the pendulum had many secrets.
The biggest of all was that the pendulum could be used to tell time.
As a result and over the years the idea of using a pendulum was experimented with. Eventually in 1656 an inventor accomplished building an efficient clock. It was accurate to within 3 minutes per day which was impressive.
Now what I found out was that the pendulums were made of cast iron and that the clocks were placed on the wall.
I remember my grandmother's wall clock that was encased in wood with a little bird that would come out and chirp on the hour.
The English clockmakers brought about the longer pendulum design.
Just 10 short years later inventor William Clement designed the brilliant anchor escapement.
So with the design of the longer pendulum and the anchor escapement the grandfather clock made it's appearance on the market.
Often times they stood some seven feet tall.
Unlike the catchy name "grandfather" the original name was called floor clock. Certainly not as grand as grandfather but it was what it was. The grandfather name came about in the late 1800's.
In terms of performance the long case clocks were accurate to just a couple second per week.
With this marked improvement clock makers added the minute hand.
And so with impressive time-keeping and beautiful encasings, the grandfather clock was a sight to see.
It doesn't boggle most minds to learn that such mastery was yet again enjoyed by the rich more than anyone else. It was far too expensive.
Eventually the production costs dropped to a level that allowed more people to enjoy the stately time-tellers.
Eventually the European clock made it's way to America. And soon after Americans were pursuing building their own grandfather clocks. They eventually gave the British clock makers a run for their money as the top producers in the world.
I know what you are thinking and I will mention it here again.
No, grandfather clocks are not as accurate as a modern wrist watch but there is something about them that leaves a person not caring about that.
The rich history and craftsmanship that goes into creating a clock is what really captures the attention.
And every time the bell rings on the hour a person who hears the sounds is reminded tht an amazing invention is not too far away. How gifted mankind is.
