Uhrenmuseum Beyer
Encyclopedia
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and is one of the world's leading private museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s dedicated to the horology
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
.
The museum is located on the lower level of Bahnhofstrasse 31, the main shopping boulevard. It is affiliated with Chronometrie Beyer, a high grade watch retailer run by the same family for generations.
The core of the museum was acquired during the life of Theodore 'Teddy' Beyer, a pioneer in collecting antique timekeepers. The collection is made up of premechanical timekeepers (sundials, sandglasses, water and fire clocks) as well as clocks and watches from around the world and covering all eras.
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
era, as well as complicated pieces with many complications
Complication (horology)
In horology , complication refers to any feature in a timepiece beyond the simple display of hours, minutes, and seconds.A timepiece indicating only hours, minutes, and seconds is otherwise known as a simple movement...
.
Many of the displayed pieces are unique and/or significant in the history of watchmaking, and therefore are often loaned out to major museums around the world. The collection includes one of the early marine chronometer
Marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...
s by Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud was a Swiss chronometer-maker.-Career:He was born at Plancemont, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Having served his apprenticeship with his brother, Jean-Henri, a pendulum maker, he set up a clockmaking business in Paris in 1745 and gained a great reputation for the excellence and...
, a pendule sympathique by Breguet
Breguet
Breguet may refer to: * Breguet , watch manufacturer* Breguet Aviation, a defunct French aircraft manufacturer; was formally known as "Société Anonyme des Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Breguet"...
, a pocket watch with astronomical indications by Auch, several bespoke late 20th century watches by George Daniels, one of the few reproductions of the astrarium
Astrarium
An astrarium, also called a planetarium, is the mechanical representation of the cyclic nature of astronomical objects in one timepiece. It is an astronomical clock.-Greek and Roman World:...
by De Dondi to name just a few highlights. Furthermore there are superb Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
made enameled
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
pocket watch
Pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
es, and a most instructive timeline illustrating the history of the Neuchâtel pendule.
Additionally there is a good small display of locally made clocks and watches including such Zurich makers as Bachoffner, Liechti and Ochsner.
See also
- HorologyHorologyHorology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
Similar museums:
- Deutsches UhrenmuseumDeutsches UhrenmuseumThe German Clock Museum is situated near the centre of the Black Forest town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, a historic centre of clockmaking. It features permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of timekeeping...
- National Watch and Clock MuseumNational Watch and Clock MuseumThe National Watch and Clock Museum , located in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and timekeepers....
- Mussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMusée International d'Horlogerie is a museum located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, dedicated to horology, which is the study of time, timekeeping and timekeeping devices...
- Clockmakers' MuseumClockmakers' MuseumThe Clockmakers' Museum in London, England is a collection of clocks, watches and other horological items which belongs to the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, which is one of the City of London Livery Companies. It is housed in a gallery at the Guildhall. Admission is free.The Clockmakers'...
- Royal Observatory, GreenwichRoyal Observatory, GreenwichThe Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...