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After many shipwrecks arising from navigational errors, Parliament in 1714 passed the Longitude Act offering a reward of up to 20 000 to “…such person who shall discover the Longitude”. One method was to devise a clock, which could withstand the motion of a ship and still maintain high accuracy.

John Harrison and his brother James, who were originally carpenters, built a series of such clocks for test purposes and their first model was named “H. l”. This clock incorporated several revolutionary features, notably a “Grasshopper” escapement and 2 dumb-bell pendulums.

The model was presented for trials in 1735 achieving great success and the Harrisons proceeded to develop several other models from it.

“H.1” was mainly made of wood and weighed some 72 lb. We have produced a modern version of H.1 — the model called “The Sea Clock” that weighs only 12 lb (5,5 kg). We have retained the “Grasshopper” escapement and the twin “dumb-bell” pendulums, and we still use a special wood — Lignum Vitae for the pallets.

The drive is our own 8-day spring-wound movement. Base: mahogany. An optional wood framed glass case is available.