#38 13/03/14

KING OF THE WATCHMAKERS

     For a period of its history, the city of Coventry had a considerable reputation as the main center of clock and watch-making in Britain, and Coventry timepieces made then were synonymous with both quality and reliability. Few people in the city today will have heard of Samuel Watson, but he almost single-handedly paved the way for Coventry's involvement in the clock and watch business. He was at the forefront of the watch-making revolution in the 1680s, and although it is not known how Waston became involved in the trade, he was a trailblazer for others.

     Waston made his name in 1682 when he sold a clock to King Charles II and was invited to be the King's mathematician. The following he began work on an astronomical clock for the King, complete with planets and signs of the zodiac, which took seven years to build. It not only told the time of day but also the positional changes of the planets. Queen Mary acquired it in 1691 and it is still on the ownership of the Royal Family.

     He built several other clocks, and by 1690 the clamour for Waston's clock was such that he left Coventry and took up residence in London. He became Master of the London Clockmakers' Company in 1692, which is testament to his standing in the growing industry.

    In 1712, Samuel Waston's name disappears from the records of the London Clockmakers' Company, and the likelihood is that he died in that year