Mechanism Made By The Famous Watchmaker Thomas Mudge In The 18th Century In Britain Editorial Image

Mudge appointed Watchmaker to the King but he also completed his first marine chronometer and successfully had it tested by Thomas Hornsby, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford. This chronometer was then submitted to Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal, for extended tests at the Observatory 1776-7 which it failed to pass; it eventually was housed in the British Museum. Mudge`s first chronometer featured an eight-day movement powered by two separate springs in a single barrel and in spite of Maskelyn`e rejection it turned out to a a highly accurate chronometer reemaining a landmark in timekeeping accuracy until the 1880s. The Board of Longitude meanwhile gave Mudge 500 guineas and urged him to make another watch in order to qualify for the government’s rewards, the terms of which required the construction of two watches of the specified accuracy. Mudge now set about making two more timekeepers which were so alike that they were named after the colour of their shagreen cases, the“Green” and the “Blue”. These two chronometers had a power reserve of 36 hours and featured enamel dials set in filigree work; the finish was superb in spite of the fact that Mudge’s eyesight was failing at this stage in his life. Subsequent to public testing, these watches were also deemed by the Astronomer Royal as not satisfying the terms of the reward.