When you look at the hourglass, you involuntarily reflect and admire this wonderful invention of mankind. Probably, there is no such person who would not be surprised at their peculiar beauty: after all, the hourglass is so simple in its structure, and the meaning of what they serve is so deep - the measurement of time. This is a very symbolic thing. In ancient times, they were considered a symbol of the Greek god of time, Kronos, whom the ancient Greeks revered as the chief judge and great healer. Hence the belief that the hourglass has a special, magical miraculous power. For hundreds of years, attempts were made to improve them - and they replaced sand with mercury, and spring mechanisms for turning the clock were made ... But all these innovations did not take root, but people still use the simplest hourglass to this day.
Nowadays, hourglasses exist in a huge variety, although, for the most part, they remain close to the classical form - two stable bases connected by racks, and a flask with sand, fixed between them, having a narrow isthmus through which sand is poured from one half to the other ... Bases, racks - they were made of wood, metal, bone, and sand was used as a loose body. And now new materials have appeared - an hourglass can be made of plastic, and instead of sand, other fine-grained substances of various colors are used, or even a special gel.
It is precisely because of this that such unusual effects are possible, such as, for example, a clock in which sand is poured from bottom to top!
Hourglass blue clock "Vice versa"
Where can one buy:
Price: 160 rubles
It looks incredible - as if time itself has turned back! How is this possible? It turns out that everything is very simple - the watch is filled with a transparent liquid, and the blue "sand" granules are lighter than this liquid, and tend to float. Observers have probably already noticed a small bubble at the very top of this watch - it gives out their liquid essence. And for greater effect, a beautiful blue liquid is poured into the cavities free from sand.
There are even more unusual clocks, they look like water, but at the same time, droplets of gel move in them.
Where can one buy:
Price: 190 rubles
Each drop does not fall down directly, but jumps along a special ladder. When your nerves start to fail, you should look at such a watch, and you will quickly calm down, because it is a good anti-stress.
No less interesting is this watch, which also uses gel
Water clock "Color Time"
Where can one buy:
Price: 120 rubles
They are interesting in that drops of two colors, blue and pink, flowing at the same time, pass through a thin plane of liquid flow, turning into colored circles. In this case, one can observe not only the action of surface tension forces, but also the addition of colors.
As a transitional option from a water clock to an hourglass one, very unusual
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 1300 rubles
As the sand is poured in the watch, they float into a flask with a beautiful green liquid. For engineers and builders, this watch will immediately remind you of a tool called a "level". It is twice as interesting to watch this clock - both the sand and the movement of the clock inside the flask. Another option for such a watch
Gift hourglass red sand
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 600 rubles
Such watches will look especially spectacular and beautiful in direct bright sunlight falling on them.
There is an hourglass, which is made in the form of a monolithic crystal, in which there is a cavity of the corresponding shape, and sand is enclosed in it.
Where to buy: robotroniks.ru
Price: 190 rubles
They are multifaceted, of different shapes, and all very pretty, with convex or concave edges, colored backgrounds, decorations and sand.
What are the most modern hourglass of classic shapes, you can see very clearly on the clock
Where to buy: romaxus.ru
Price: 1260 rubles
Their metal body is delightful for its smoothness, graceful shapes, and the sand has a pleasant pink color.
Also, pink sand can carry not only a decorative meaning, but also a symbolic one.
Hourglass clock pink heart
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 350 rubles
Pink grains of sand, pouring between two hearts, like sparks of love, symbolize the interaction of feelings of two loving hearts. A good gift for a loved one.
Big people have big, solid watches. Such as these
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 780 rubles
And there are such hourglasses that, as the name says, are able to control time.
Where to buy: magsnov.ru
Price: 1600 rubles
Where to buy: magsnov.ru
Price: 2200 rubles
This is a very extraordinary modification of an hourglass under a magnifying glass, which allows its owner not only to stop the passage of time at will, but also to increase the time intervals, which are sometimes so lacking. Conquer over time!
Everywhere: in the office, and on the doctor's desk, and in the living room, and on an ordinary bookshelf - the hourglass has never been and will not be a superfluous thing - it will always find practical application. Even in medicine and psychology, the effect of their action is very significant, because they are able to change the emotional and energy state of a person, having a beneficial effect on well-being and mood.
Hourglass has been used by people since ancient times. This is a fairly accurate device for measuring time, but it has one significant drawback - it can only measure small intervals of time. However, people continue to use the hourglass in everyday life to this day. But if you think about it, the vitality of this image has many reasons.
In fact, the hourglass is the simplest timepiece. They do not have a complex mechanism that can break or start to malfunction, but they do not depend, for example, on the presence of the sun.
An hourglass of classic design consists of two vessels that are connected by a narrow neck, fixed on a stable stand. A certain amount of sand is poured into one of them. Depending on the volume of the vessels themselves, the hourglass can measure intervals of a few seconds, minutes, or even hours when it comes to a large time meter.
How much sand has flowed under the bridge since creation
There are many versions about how the hourglass was invented. According to one of them, this time meter appeared in Europe around the 8th century. According to this version, the hourglass is the brainchild of the French monk Liutprand from Chartres Cathedral. The next mention of this invention is found in a fresco dating from the XIV century. The hourglass was captured in his creation entitled “Allegory of Good Government” by the Italian artist Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338. From about this time, there are references to these time meters in ship's logs.
For a long time, the hourglass was considered the most practical device of its kind. However, from about the beginning of the 1500s, their popularity began to decline, as most people preferred the mechanical watches that appeared in the course, which had more accuracy.
Over time, the hourglass has not undergone any significant design changes. Initially, they were made from two flasks tied with a cord or just a thick thread. At the junction, the necks of the vessels were interposed with a metal diaphragm with a hole, which just regulated the amount and speed of sand pouring. For strength, this joint was also poured with wax or resin so that sand did not spill out and moisture did not get inside. The first hourglass with hermetically sealed flasks appeared around the 1760s. They were more accurate than the previous analogue, since constant humidity was maintained inside the vessels. As a result, the sand could not be dampened, and therefore it was always poured at the same speed.
Note that not all sand could get into the hourglass. To obtain a high-quality filler, the craftsmen took a fine-grained type of sand, first burned and sieved it through a fine sieve, and then dried it thoroughly. The more uniformly its graininess was obtained, the more accurate the readings of the finished time meter were.
By the way, the hourglass was filled with granules of various origins. It could be a powder of finely rubbed marble, crushed eggshell, in some models they tried to use tin or lead oxide. The hourglass craftsmen have conducted many experiments to understand which granules give the most constant flow. There are written references to the fact that in Paris there was even a special workshop that specialized in preparing the original filler for this time meter. Here it was made from powdered black marble. It was crushed into fine sand, boiled in wine and then dried in the sun.
Nevertheless, it is still not possible to say unequivocally which granules are the best. Moreover, in addition to the quality of the sand, other factors also affect the accuracy of the readings. For example, its quantity or the size of the flasks and the neck connecting them. Creating an hourglass, craftsmen experimented a lot with the ratio of their sizes. As a result, it was determined that the neck diameter should not exceed half the diameter of the flask. The minimum size of this hole can be equal to 1/12 of the diameter of the flask.
The choice of this indicator depends not least on how large the granules with which the hourglass is filled. Accordingly, identical time meters of this kind, differing only in the diameter of the neck, can measure different periods of time. The narrower the isthmus connecting the flasks, the longer the sand pours. By the way, over time, the hourglass loses its verified accuracy precisely because of the constant friction, the granules inside the flasks are crushed into smaller ones and, as a result, are poured faster. The quality of the glass is also of great importance. It should be perfectly smooth without any defects inside, so as not to impede the free movement of grains of sand.
European hourglasses have typically been rated for periods ranging from 30 minutes to a full hour. However, there were also such specimens that measured a 3-hour period of time. Hourglass designed for half a day was created extremely rarely. However, such a time meter should have, without exaggeration, gigantic dimensions.
For those whose dwellings could not accommodate such a capital structure, special sets were invented. Several hourglasses were installed in one building at once. Such an apparatus made it possible to measure long time intervals. It was possible to buy such an hourglass and simply folded into one case.
Technological progress did not stand still. He also touched on the hourglass, which needed improvements in order to make at least some weighty competition to the practical and precise mechanical analogs that appeared. For example, craftsmen in Nuremberg and Ausburg complicated their design, starting to place four systems of flasks in one case at once. A mathematician named De la Hire did his bit by creating an hourglass so accurate that it could even measure second intervals. Scientist Tycho Brahe became famous as an astronomer, but he also had a hand in the evolution of this device, trying to replace the usual sand with mercury. Fortunately, such a dangerous innovation did not catch on.
However, the biggest breakthrough in this area was made by Stefan Farfler, who created a spring mechanism with which the hourglass was tilted automatically at regular intervals. Naturally, this innovation has made their use much more convenient.
Evolution of "flasks" into an alarm clock
Before the hourglass became widespread, the hydrologium, or, as this device is also called, clepsydra, was used. In fact, this is a water clock, which was used by the Assyrian-Babylonians and the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. Clepsydra is a cylindrical vessel with water that flows out of it. Equal time intervals were noticed on the cylinder. It is with klepsydra that the expression "time has run out", used today, is associated.
The Greeks perfected this design. Plato, for example, described a mechanism consisting of a pair of cones entering into each other that regulate the rate of water flowing out of the vessels. Of course, such specific designs were not very convenient. If they could still be used in production, then on ships where timing was necessary to determine speed, such a clepsydra did not give accurate readings.
During the Middle Ages, the design of water watches underwent a number of changes, making them more comfortable and accurate. Clepsydra turned into a drum, divided inside into several longitudinal chambers with water, inside which there was an axle with a wound rope. The drum was suspended from this rope, and it began to rotate, unwinding it. The water inside the clepsydra, flowing from one chamber to another, regulated the rotation speed. Time was counted by lowering the drum.
However, clepsydra was still far from ideal, since its accuracy continued to depend on the height of the flask, the presence of rolling and the ambient temperature. In the winter period, the water in such a watch could simply freeze, making them completely useless.
The hourglass did not bring such unpleasant surprises. People began to use them at home in the kitchen, in the church, then in production. It was the hourglass that measured lunchtime for various employees.
However, it was for sailors that this device, accurate and practical, became a real find. Since the 15th century, any ship had at least three such time meters. One hourglass was designed for four hours, which corresponded to the time of one watch, the second - for a minute, and the third - for 30 seconds. With the help of the latter, the sailors calculated the speed with which the ship was moving along the log.
By the way, this is where the naval tradition of measuring the time with "flasks" came from. The watchman, who followed the indications of the ship's hourglass, regularly struck the ship's bell, turning over the half-hour hourglass, that is, in fact, "beat the bottles." After each full hour, the sailor struck the bell twice.
The famous navigator Fernand Magellan used an hourglass in a set of 18 pieces during his voyage around the world. He needed to know the exact time for navigation, as well as in order to keep the ship's log. The hourglass on the ships of this Magellan expedition was calculated for 15, 30, 45 minutes and a full hour. Each ship had a person who had to turn them over as needed. In addition, his duties included the verification and correction of the clock readings.
Of course, nowadays the fleet uses more sophisticated instruments for measuring time. However, the hourglass is still used in everyday life. For example, they can be useful in the kitchen as a timer. For the same purpose, the hourglass is used in school laboratories or when checking reading techniques, in treatment rooms. Such time meters are produced for recording intervals when measuring the pulse, antipyretic wraps, contrast showers, treatment with mustard plasters or medical banks. Also, an hourglass designed for 10 - 15 minutes is very convenient to control the time spent in a sauna, steam bath or solarium.
Children will love this time meter. A vibrant hourglass filled with colored granules can turn boring hygiene routines like brushing your teeth or tempering douches into a fun game.
Already in the twentieth century, the hourglass was used for more serious purposes. For example, telephone exchange workers also used models with an automatic rollover mechanism to control the duration of conversations. The hourglass was used during the judicial debate so that opponents did not really spread their thoughts along the tree. They are used for the same purpose in both houses of the Australian Parliament. There, the duration of the speakers' speeches is limited by a special hourglass with three systems of flasks.
By the way, now there are also electronic versions of such time meters. By the way, such an hourglass can be bought not only as an original element of the interior. They can be very useful in everyday life. For example, the electronic hourglass by designers Fabian Hemmert and Susan Hamman is an unusual alarm clock. You just need to tilt its body by 45 degrees, and the function is launched: the display starts to "roll" red LEDs. It is noteworthy that this alarm clock should be set not for the wake-up time, but for the duration of sleep. Each luminous point corresponds to one hour of night dreams. Waking up at night, even in the dark, you can easily see how much sleep is left. And for those who like to lie down a little longer after the alarm clock has signaled the rise, this conditionally hourglass has a special function. Just turn them over - in five minutes they will remind you to get up again.
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However, in the vast majority of cases today, an hourglass can be bought only as an original element of the interior. With the advent of much more accurate mechanical and electronic time meters, their practical function still loses to aesthetic. But here the masters can give free rein to imagination. The hourglass is placed in cases made of precious woods, decorated with bizarre ornaments. Sometimes they are even inlaid with various precious stones. Such antique table clocks can become a highlight of the interior.
Masters from Thailand did not limit themselves to experiments on the outer decoration of the clock. They probably remembered that inner beauty is much more important, only they took this statement too literally. As a result, their hourglass was filled with small diamonds instead of the usual sand. The total weight of the precious filling was approximately 10 thousand carats. This hourglass is one of the most expensive today. Their cost is 6.4 million dollars.
It's time for records
As you know, there are no limits to perfection, and therefore masters from different countries are still trying to create the best and most unusual hourglasses. Since there can be no complex mechanism in this time meter in principle, and you can't really manipulate the shape, you just have to experiment with the sizes.
For example, in the early 90s, an hourglass was created in Hamburg, which is by far the smallest. The height of this masterpiece does not exceed 2.4 cm. The sand is poured from the upper part to the lower in a period of time equal to 5 seconds.
The creation of a gigantic hourglass turned out to be, apparently, more fun. There is even some rivalry in this area.
The first such giant has a permanent residence permit in the sand museum located in the Japanese city of Nîmes. This hourglass was created in 1991. Their height is 5 m and the diameter of the flask chambers is 1 m. However, 13 years later, their fame was overshadowed by the popularity of one of the main attractions of Budapest.
As you know, in 2004 Hungary became part of the European Union. For the inhabitants of this country, such an event turned out to be very joyful. In honor of him in the central part of Budapest, near Heroes' Square, a monument was erected, known as the "Wheel of Time".
This gigantic hourglass has become a symbol of the fusion of ancient traditions and the latest technologies. They are equipped with a very sophisticated semi-automatic mechanism that monitors the pouring of sand using a computer. However, its complexity is largely due to the size of the time meter. The Budapest hourglass reaches as much as 8 m in height. They represent a gigantic granite circle that makes one complete revolution during the year. On December 31st, the sand-filled chamber moves upstairs, and the annual countdown starts again. Moreover, this revolution is carried out not by a computer program, but by a person who, however, uses cables and the simplest mechanism to help move a heavy stone block. Thus, this hourglass symbolizes human tenacity and strength that have helped us overcome all obstacles for many centuries.
As conceived by the creators, the "Wheel of Time" symbolizes the entry of Hungary into a new era of development.
However, four years later, this record was also broken. In 2008, the German automobile company BMW decided to install a kind of advertisement on Red Square in anticipation of the presentation of the new model. As a result, an hourglass appeared in Moscow, the height of which was 12 m. They are made of durable acrylic glass and filled with shiny metal balls. In total, 180 thousand of these balls were used for these watches, as a result of which the total weight of the entire structure reached 40 tons. This hourglass was built over nine days and was supposed to count down until July 8, 2008, when the presentation of the new model from BMW was to take place. By the way, the hourglass was so large that, in addition to the metal balls periodically falling down, the car itself was located in their upper chamber.
It turns out that these days an hourglass is not so much a device for measuring time as an element of style or even an indicator of high status and good taste of the owner.
Olya
The watch accompanies a person throughout his life. Chronometers of various designs and purposes will not only become part of the antique collection, but also decorate interiors in retro and classic styles, and wrist models will complement an evening outfit.
We offer
The catalog of our salon contains various antiques, including watches from the 19th century, as well as more modern models. You can buy from us:
- outdoor;
- wall-mounted;
- desktop;
- fireplaces;
- manual;
- pocket;
- male and female;
- award;
- solar;
- sand options.
Also in the presence of a large selection of accessories, related parts. We have collected for you antique bracelets, chains, boxes, cases, keys for winding models, watchmaker's tool kits and much more.
Features of the offer
Many mechanisms have additional decorations in the form of figures of people and animals, floral ornaments, and are decorated with semi-precious stones. The list of production materials is also varied.
Old watches are stamped by manufacturers, premium engravings, and the initials of famous owners. For example, pocket watches of English production, made in Chester, have retained clearly distinguishable brands, are in good condition and are still in use. Also, subject catalogs and reference books of various years of release in Russian and foreign languages \u200b\u200bare always available.
The cost
The assortment includes products of the USSR era, as well as truly unique and rare items, the price of which is much higher. So, collectors will be interested in the premium watches of Grigory Ivanovich Yavorsky (1770-1834) with the accompanying archival documents: deeds of sale, personal correspondence, brief biographical information. Soviet-style, on the contrary, are affordable due to their prevalence.
You can buy items you like in the ArtAntik antique salon with delivery in Moscow and in the regions of Russia. All products are carefully packed, which eliminates the risk of damage during transportation. Choose and order now!
People started measuring time a long time ago. For this, water and sunlight were used, later the energy of grains of sand, the mechanical force of springs, and today most often vibrations of piezo crystals.
Once one of the main devices for measuring time was the hourglass. It is reliably known that the principle of their construction was known in Asia much earlier before the beginning of our chronology. However, in the ancient world, despite references to bottle clocks and attempts to make glass, the hourglass was not constructed. In Europe, they appeared in the Middle Ages.
It has been documented that in the 14th century sand made of marble, lead or zinc dust, quartz, and also from eggshells were used for the production of hourglasses. The smoother the glass, the higher the accuracy. It also depended on the sand itself and on the shape of the vessels. The presence of a diaphragm made it possible to regulate the amount and, accordingly, the rate of pouring of grains of sand. True, in those days, the masters did not manage to achieve the accuracy and durability of the hourglass due to the mechanical destruction of the grains.
The time interval for which the hours are calculated usually ranged from a couple of seconds to one hour, less often several hours. However, there are also exceptions that are in Budapest (Hungary) and Nimes (Japan). This hourglass is several meters high and has a cycle of one year.
For a long time, ships used a 30-second hourglass, which was used to measure speed and half an hour - watch time. Also, thirty-minute chronometers were used in court sessions, and thirty-second - in medicine.
In the history of the hourglass, there are many attempts to improve them, for example, using spring mechanisms to turn over, or replacing grains of sand with mercury. But all these innovations did not take root, and modern watches are the same as they were several centuries ago.
Today, few people use an hourglass to measure time, but many people come across them as a symbol. So with users of the Microsoft Windows operating system, this happens with each session, just the mouse pointer turns into an overturning hourglass, showing the system is busy.
Clock
Physicists, engineers, artists and jewelers - representatives of these serious professions developed the first copy of mechanical watches in order for humanity to receive a device that displays the exact course of time. Both in antiquity and now, chronographs serve as indicators of the high status of their owners, with the only amendment that in modern times there are more varieties of devices for timing. But even the abundance of newfangled gadgets cannot affect our psychology: if in a museum or at a visit we see an old wall clock (especially those with a fight), our heart begins to beat faster from the beauty of the device, which lies in the elegance and perfection of its forms.
Unlike electronic chronographs, antique chronographs are able to mentally transfer to the past, they make us feel the spirit of bygone days. This unearthly feeling of joy and tranquility is experienced by everyone who has ever seen the devices for counting time, created centuries ago. Oddly enough, antique watches have the ability to perfectly fit into any interiors, although at first glance it may seem that their design does not correspond to fashion trends.
A chronograph that has worked reliably for hundreds of years is not the dream of today's user. We no longer pay attention to the fact that we have ceased to get used to things and technology, because if something breaks (and this happens quickly), we take a wallet and go to the nearest store for what we need. Antique watches carry a completely different principle: they can work for decades and never stop their movement. Previously, the quality of the details and the scrupulousness of the master, who put part of his soul into his brainchild, decided, if not everything, then a lot. After all, the specialist valued his reputation and did not take money from the client in vain.
An interesting fact is that old watches are also valued for the status of their previous owner. If you see a chronograph that the seller offers for a fabulous price, then take an interest in the history of the device, it is quite possible that it was owned by a major industrialist, merchant or official.
When choosing a watch, you should pay close attention to the state of its main mechanism, because even the slightest restoration of the device can make it cheaper. A chronometer made of noble materials or having a number of additional functions (repeater, calendar, thermometer, barometer, etc.) will cost more.
In the shop "Stariny Lavka" you can buy table, marine, pocket and mantel clocks at reasonable prices. Each of the devices presented on the virtual showcase is a work of art, many of them are decorated with miniature sculptural compositions.
