Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-05-23
About Watches.

In 1571 Queen Elizabeth received
! from Leicester, as New Years gift,
lone armlet of shackell of gold all
fairly garnished with rubies and dis-
monds having in the closing thereof n
clock"
The first watches may readily be
supposed to have been of rude execu-
tinn. The first great Improvement the
substitution of springs for weights was
in 1850. The earliest springs were not
coiled, but only straight pieces of
steel.
At first the watch was about the size
of dessert plate it had weights, and
was used as pocket clock" The
earliest known use of the modern name
occurs in the record of 1852, which
mentions that Edward VI. had one
iarum or watch of iron, the case being
likewise of iron gilt. with two plum
NETS of lead"
A wooden watch was recently made
by Victor Doriat OF Bristol. The case
is made of brier-root, and the inside
works, all except three of the wheels
and the springs, are OF box-wood- 1t
is an open faced watch with a glass
crystal, and is an elegant piece of work
manship, displaying wonderful talent
in the maker. 1t does not weigh more
than an ounce. 1t is said the watch
keeps good time.
Early watches had only one hand. and
being wound up twice a day, they
could not be expected TO keep time
nearer than fifteen or twenty minutes
in the twelve hours. The dials we're of
silver or brass the cases had no crys-
tails, but opened at the back and front,
and were four or five inches in diane
ter. A plain watch cost the equivalent
of 81, 900 in our currency, and after
one was ordered it took year to make
it.
There is a watch in Swiss museum
only three-sixteenths of an inch in di-
ameter, inserted in the top of pencil
case. Its little dial not only indicates
hours, minutes and seconds, but also
days of the month. It is relic of the
times when watches were inserted i'll
snuff- boxes, shirt-studs, breastpins and
finger-rings. Some were fantastic
oval, octangular, cruciform, or in the
shape of pearls, melons, tulips, etc.
In the Academy of Sciences in ST.
Petersburg there is n watch about the
size of an egg, and IS said to have been
made by Russian peasant. Within 1t
is represented the tomb OF Christ, with
a stone at the entrance, and the senti-
nels on duty. While spectator is ad-
miring this curious piece of mechanism
the stone is suddenly removed, the
sentinels drop, the angels appear, the
women enter the sepulchre, and II
chant is heard.
Touch watches-watches by which
the time can be felt instead of seen
have been frequently made for the use
of the blind. The hour marka on such
are generally raised studs, or pins,
which can readily be recognized by
passing the finger over the dial their
position with respect TO the pendant
being quite sufficient to indicate the
hour they represent to digits as sensi-
tive as those of blind people generally
are. They are not only OF use to blind
people, but to all who wish to know
the time at night.
In 1910 a watch was presented to the
Academy of Science at Paris con-
structed principally of rock crystals.
It was made by NJ. Rsbelier, and is
small in size; the works are visible
the two teethed wheels which carry
the hands are rock crystal, and the
other wheels are metal. All the screws
are fixed in the crystal and all the
sxles turn on rubies. The escapement
is of sapphire, the balance wheel of
rock crystal. The watch is IN excellent
time keeper, which is attributed by the
maker to the feeble expansion of the
rock crystal in the balance wheel, etc.
T~olg Times