130 Years of Marine Chronometers from Saxony

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130 Years of Marine Chronometers from Saxony - Glashütte Original
New special exhibition at the German Watch Museum Glashütte

On June 17, the German Watch Museum Glashütte opened its latest special exhibition dedicated to the different versions and technical developments in marine chronometers made in Glashütte in the last 130 years. The museum presents the development of Glashütte marine chronometers using numerous exhibits, documents and photographs in their historic context. The technical aspects and specific construction details of the chronometer movement are presented to the visitor in an easily understood way in an artisanal context. In addition, a multimedia presentation brings the practical use of marine chronometers at sea closer to the visitor's experience.

For centuries seafarers oriented themselves at sea by observing the stars and using a chip log and logline to measure distance and speed. One of the biggest navigational challenges was to determine the longitude, and only when John Harrison invented the marine chronometer did navigation at sea become significantly more precise and more reliable.
With the founding of the German Empire in 1871 and growing interest in international trade, the German Navy became more important as well and significant support was provided to encourage the production of chronometers in Germany. In 1886 the first marine chronometers from Glashütte were sent to the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg for testing.
In the following years numerous innovations and technical improvements brought international renown and success to marine chronometers from Glashütte. Also after the division of Germany, the production of chronometers in Glashütte continued, with the state-owned company VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe taking up the tradition and manufacturing a large number of  mechanical chronometers.

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Another aspect of German chronometer history is the connection between the “German Naval Observatory Hamburg”, founded in 1875, and Glashütte. Following the reunification of Germany the Hamburg–Glashütte link was taken up again, the Glashütte astronomical observatory was restored and today houses a production of watches and a chronometer testing facility, which also officially certifies the chronometers made by Glashütte Original.

As a founder of the museum and long-time manufacturer of modern high-end timepieces, Glashütte Original takes advantage of this special exhibition to present the latest version of its successful Senator Chronometer, which was launched earlier this year during Baselworld 2016.

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The exhibition is open to the public from 17 June through 20 November 2016 in the German Watch Museum Glashütte.

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Glashütte Original