The History of Watches
The British Museum's collection of watches is unsurpassed anywhere in the  world. With examples ranging from sixteenth-century early stack freed  watches (the first with built-in mechanisms to prevent them from running  faster as their mainsprings wound down) to decorative watches of the  seventeenth century, from precision made chronometers of the eighteenth and  nineteenth centuries to mass-produced watches of the modern era, the  collection follows the complete history of the watch through an incredible  500 years.Strikingly illustrated with 250 color images, this authoritative compendium  presents that history with a range and depth unequaled by any other book.  All the major makers of Europe and America are represented in its pages,  many with multiple examples. Here you will find gems from the London  workshops of Thomas Tompion, whose reputation stretched far and wide even  in his own time; samples from the craftsmanship of Swiss-born Abraham Louis  Breguet, who supplied the finest and costliest watches to the crown heads  and aristocratic families of the Western world; and many other exquisite  masterworks. Saul Peckham's photography captures every finely-wrought  detail, from the ornamentation of faces to the precision and intricacy of  gears. An essential volume for horologists, collectors, and aficionados  alike, The History of Watches will take you on a fascinating journey  through time as recorded by the world's most illustrious timepieces.