History
A short history of timekeeping
From shadows and water flow to pendulums, quartz, atoms and globally synchronised networks.
Reading cycles in nature
Early timekeeping followed recurring natural events: the Sun’s shadow, the phases of the Moon and seasonal change. Sundials divided daylight, while water clocks and other flow-based devices measured intervals when the Sun was unavailable.
Mechanical clocks made equal hours practical
Medieval mechanical clocks used escapements to release stored energy in controlled steps. Pendulum clocks greatly improved regularity in the seventeenth century, making accurate domestic and scientific timekeeping possible.
Frequency became the modern foundation
Twentieth-century quartz clocks counted stable crystal oscillations. Atomic clocks then used reproducible atomic transition frequencies, supporting satellite navigation, communications, finance and the international time scales behind modern civil time.