It wasn’t until the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens proclaimed in 1675 to have implemented a balance spring into a watch that Hooke suddenly took interest again. However, he abandoned these experiments halfway, as he was often known to do, in favour of other work. Hooke’s claim centres around a set of lectures he gave to the Royal Society in the late 1660s concerning the usefulness of a balance spring. This period is covered in great detail by Cecil Clutton and George Daniels in the book Watches: A Complete History of the Technical and Decorative Development of the Watch, but we will try and give a brief overview here. As has been the case with many advancements in horology, it appears that multiple people were working towards the same ends independently of each other. However, more controversially, he claimed to be the first person to invent the balance spring. Hooke was the inventor of the anchor escapement, which was later developed to become the deadbeat escapement. A notable example of these polymaths was Robert Hooke, 1635-1703, a significant figure in the fields of physics, geology and architecture, and holder the title of Curator of Experiments at the Royal Society. Many of those who worked in clockmaking at the time were not just watchmakers they worked across many different fields. Founded on 22nd August 1631, it plays a big role in the history of watchmaking in London. Its aim was to regulate and promote all of the trades associated with clockmaking, including engraving, case making, sundial making, and parts production. It was the founding of this guild that started the process of professionalising this craft in England and, despite the protest of other guilds such as the blacksmiths, who lost many members to this new organisation, it managed to create a foothold in the city. Ramsey went on to become the first Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Bartholomew Newsam became the clockmaker for Queen Elizabeth I in the early 1580s and King James I called upon his countryman, David Ramsey, to fill the same post. Despite this influx of foreign tradesmen, native talent was starting to come to the fore. The trade took serious hits at the end of this period from outbreaks of the plague, the Great Fire of London and the Civil War. According to the Clockmakers’ Museum in London, some of those who came over and settled in the capital include Francis and Michael Nouwen and Nicholas Vallin, mainly around Blackfriars and Clerkenwell, where the clockmaking industry went on to develop.
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