Hourglass. Mantel clock with barometer and thermometer Hourglass Pink heart
When you look at the hourglass, you involuntarily think and admire this wonderful invention of mankind. Probably, there is no such person who would not be surprised by their peculiar beauty: after all, the hourglass is so simple in its device, 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 the 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 made spring mechanisms for turning clocks ... But all these innovations did not take root, but people 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 - hourglasses 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, watches in which sand pours from bottom to top!
Hourglass blue “Vice versa”
Where can I 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 clock - it betrays their liquid essence. And for greater showiness, a beautiful blue liquid is poured into the cavities free from sand.
There are even more unusual watches, they seem to be water, but at the same time, gel droplets move in them.
Where can I buy:
Price: 190 rubles
Each drop does not fall straight down, but jumps along a special ladder. When the nerves begin to fail, it is worth looking at such a watch, and you will quickly calm down, because it is a good anti-stress.
No less interesting are these watches, in which the gel is also used.
Water clock “Color Time”
Where can I buy:
Price: 120 rubles
They are interesting in that simultaneously flowing drops of two colors, blue and pink, pass through a thin plane of liquid flow, turning into colored circles. At the same time, 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, very unusual
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 1300 rubles
As the sand in the clock is poured, they float up in a flask with a beautiful green liquid. For engineers and builders, such a watch will immediately remind you of a tool called a “level”. Watching this clock is doubly interesting - both for the sand and for the movement of the clock inside the flask. Another version of this 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: robottronics.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 is the most modern hourglass of classical shapes, it can be seen 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 Pink heart
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 350 rubles
Pink grains of sand, spilling between two hearts, like sparks of love, symbolize the interaction of the feelings of two loving hearts. A good gift for a loved one.
Big people need big, solid watches. These are like these
Where to buy: bvu.ru
Price: 780 rubles
And there are also such hourglasses, which, as the name claims, 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 unusual modification of an hourglass under a magnifying glass, allowing its owner not only to stop the passage of time at will, but also to increase time periods, which are sometimes so lacking. Rule over time!
Everywhere: in the working office, and on the doctor's desk, and in the living room, and on the usual bookshelf - the hourglass has never been and will never be a superfluous thing - they will always find a 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.
Watch
Physicists, engineers, artists and jewelers - representatives of these serious professions developed the first copy of a mechanical watch so that humanity would 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 counting time. But even the abundance of newfangled gadgets cannot affect our psychology: if we see an old wall clock in a museum or at a party (especially those with a chime), our heart begins to beat faster from the beauty of the device, which lies in the elegance and perfection of its forms.
Unlike electronic ones, antique chronographs are able to mentally transfer into 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 timekeeping devices created centuries ago. Oddly enough, antique clocks have the ability to fit perfectly into any interior, although at first glance it may seem that their design does not meet fashion trends.
A chronograph that has been working flawlessly 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 will happen quickly), we will take our wallet and go to the nearest store for what we need. Antiquarian watches carry a completely different principle: they can work for decades and never stop their course. Previously, the quality of the details and the scrupulousness of the master, who invested part of his soul in his offspring, 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 sum, 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 condition of its main mechanism, because even the slightest restoration of the device can reduce its cost. A chronometer made of noble materials or having a number of additional functions (repeater, calendar, thermometer, barometer, etc.) will cost more.
In the store "Lavka antiquity" you can buy desktop, marine, pocket and mantel clocks at reasonable prices. Each of the devices presented in the virtual showcase is a work of art, many of them are decorated with miniature sculptural compositions.
Watches accompany a person throughout life. Chronometers of various design and purpose will not only become part of the antique collection, but will also decorate interiors in retro and classic styles, while wrist models will complement evening attire.
We offer
The catalog of our salon presents various antiques, including watches from the 19th century, as well as more modern models. You can buy from us:
- floor;
- wall;
- desktop;
- fireplace;
- manual;
- Pocket;
- male and female;
- premium;
- solar;
- sand options.
There is also a wide range of accessories and accessories available. We have collected for you antique bracelets, chains, boxes, cases, keys for winding models, watchmaker's tool kits and much more.
Offer Features
Many mechanisms have additional decorations in the form of figurines of people and animals, floral ornaments, and are decorated with semi-precious stones. The list of production materials is also varied.
Old watches have stamps of manufacturers, premium engravings, initials of famous owners. Thus, an English-made pocket watch, made in Chester, has retained well-marked hallmarks, is in good condition and is still running. Also always available are thematic catalogs and reference books of various years of issue in Russian and foreign languages.
Price
The assortment includes products from the era of the USSR, as well as truly unique and rare items, the price of which is much higher. So, collectors will be interested in the award watch of Grigory Ivanovich Yavorsky (1770-1834) with the attached archival documents: bill of sale, personal correspondence, brief biographical information. Soviet-style, on the contrary, are affordable due to their prevalence.
You can buy your favorite items in the ArtAntik antique shop with delivery in Moscow and the regions of Russia. All items are carefully packaged to prevent damage during transit. Choose and order now!
People have been measuring time for a very long time. For this, water and sunlight were used, later the energy of grains of sand, the mechanical force of springs, and today most often the vibrations of piezocrystals.
Once upon a time, one of the main devices for measuring time was an hourglass. It is authentically 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 is documented that in the 14th century, sand from marble, lead or zinc dust, quartz, and also from eggshells was used for the production of hourglasses. The smoother the glass, the more accurate the movement. 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 craftsmen 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 clock is calculated usually ranged from a couple of seconds to one hour, less often several hours. However, there are exceptions, which are located in Budapest (Hungary) and Nimes (Japan). These hourglasses reach a height of several meters, and their cycle is one year.
For a long time, ships used 30-second hourglasses, which were used to measure speed and half-hour watches. Also, thirty-minute chronometers were used at court hearings, and thirty-second ones - in medicine.
In the history of hourglasses, 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 several centuries ago.
Today, few people use an hourglass to measure time, but a lot of people face it as a symbol. So with users of the Microsoft Windows operating system, this happens with every session, just the mouse pointer turns into an overturning hourglass, showing the system is busy.
Hourglasses have been used by people since ancient times. This is a fairly accurate instrument for measuring time, but it has one significant drawback - it can only measure small intervals of time. However, people to this day continue to use the hourglass in everyday life. But if you think about it, the vitality of this image has a lot of reasons.
In fact, the hourglass is the simplest device for keeping time. They do not have a complex mechanism that can break or start to fail, but at the same time they do not depend, for example, on the presence of the sun.
An hourglass of classical design is two vessels that are connected by means of a narrow neck, fixed on a stable stand. One of them is filled with a certain amount of sand. Depending on the volume of the vessels themselves, the hourglass can measure intervals of several seconds, minutes or even hours, if we are talking about a large time meter.
How much sand has flown since creation
There are many versions of how exactly 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 on a fresco dating from the 14th century. The hourglass was captured in his creation called "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 more accurate mechanical clocks that appeared in use.
Over time, the hourglass has not undergone any significant changes in design. Initially, they were made from two flasks tied together with a cord or just a thick thread. At the junction, the necks of the vessels were lined with a metal diaphragm with a hole, which just regulated the amount and speed of pouring sand. For strength, this joint was also filled with wax or resin, so that sand would not spill out and moisture would not get inside. The first hourglasses 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 become damp, and therefore it always poured at the same speed.
Note that not all sand could get into the hourglass. To get a high-quality filler, the craftsmen took a fine-grained variety of sand, first burned it and sifted it through a fine sieve, and then dried it thoroughly. The more uniform its granularity was, the more accurate were the readings of the finished time meter.
By the way, the hourglass was filled with granules of various origins. It could be powder from finely rubbed marble, crushed eggshells, in some models they tried to use tin or lead oxide. Hourglass makers have experimented a lot to find out 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 the preparation of the original filler for this time meter. Here it was made from powdered black marble. It was ground into fine sand, boiled in wine and then dried in the sun.
However, it is still impossible 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, the craftsmen experimented a lot with the ratio of their sizes. As a result, it was determined that the diameter of the neck 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 not least depends on how large the granules with which the hourglass is filled are. Accordingly, identical time meters of this kind, differing only in the diameter of the neck, can count different time intervals. The narrower the isthmus connecting the flasks, the longer the sand pours. By the way, over time, the hourglass loses its precise accuracy precisely due to the fact that, due to 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 interfere with the free movement of grains of sand.
European hourglasses were typically timed from 30 minutes to a full hour. However, there were also such specimens that measured a 3-hour period of time. It was extremely rare to create an hourglass designed for as much as half a day. However, such a time meter should have, without exaggeration, gigantic dimensions.
For those whose dwelling could not accommodate such a capital structure, special sets were invented. Several hourglasses were installed in one case at once. Such an apparatus made it possible to measure long time intervals. It was possible to buy similar hourglasses and simply folded into one case.
Technological progress did not stand still. He also touched upon the hourglass, which needed improvements in order to compete with at least some weighty competition for the practical and accurate mechanical counterparts that had appeared. For example, craftsmen in Nuremberg and Augsburg complicated their design by placing 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 measure even seconds. The 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 take root.
However, the biggest breakthrough in this area was made by Stefan Farfleur, who created a spring mechanism with which the hourglass turned over automatically at certain intervals. Naturally, this innovation made their use much more convenient.
The evolution of "flasks" into an alarm clock
Before the hourglass came into wide use, the hydrologium was used, or, as this device is also called, clepsydra. In fact, this is a water clock that was used by the Assyro-Babylonians and the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. Clepsydra is a cylindrical vessel with water that flows out of it. Equal intervals of time were noticed on the cylinder. It is with clepsydra that the expression “time is up” that is still used today is connected.
The Greeks perfected this design. Plato, for example, described a mechanism consisting of a pair of cones entering into each other, regulating 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 the timing was necessary to determine the speed, such a clepsydra did not give accurate readings.
In the Middle Ages, the design of water clocks underwent a number of changes, making them more convenient and accurate. Klepsydra turned into a drum, divided inside into several longitudinal chambers with water, inside of which there was an axis 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 speed of rotation. Time was counted by lowering the drum.
However, the clepsydra was still far from ideal, since its accuracy continued to depend on the height of the bulb, the presence of pitching and ambient temperature. In winter, the water in such watches could simply freeze, making them completely useless.
The hourglass did not present 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 the time of the lunch break for various employees.
However, it was for sailors that this device, accurate and practical, became a real find. Starting from 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, sailors calculated the speed at which the ship was moving along the log.
By the way, it was from here that the naval tradition of measuring time with "bottles" began. The officer on duty, who followed the indications of the ship's hourglass, each time regularly struck the ship's bell, turning the half-hour hourglass over, that is, in fact, "beat the flasks." At the end of every full hour, the sailor struck the bell twice.
The famous navigator Ferdinand Magellan during his trip around the world used an hourglass in a set of 18 pieces. He needed to know the exact time for navigation, as well as in order to keep a ship's log. The hourglasses on the ships of this expedition of Magellan were designed 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 reconciliation and correction of clock readings.
Of course, in our days in the Navy, more advanced instruments for measuring time are used. 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, hourglasses are used in school laboratories or when checking reading technique, in treatment rooms. They produce such time meters for timing intervals when measuring the pulse, antipyretic wraps, contrast showers, treatment with mustard plasters or medical cups. Also, the hourglass, designed for 10 - 15 minutes, is very convenient to control the time spent in the sauna, bath or solarium.
Kids will love this timer. Bright hourglass filled with colored granules can turn boring hygiene routines like brushing your teeth or dousing while hardening 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 calls. The hourglass was used during judicial debates so that opponents would not spread their thoughts along the tree. For the same purpose, they are used in both houses of the Australian Parliament. There, the duration of 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, you can buy such an hourglass 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: red LEDs begin to “roll” on the display. It is noteworthy that for this alarm clock you need to set not the time of rise, but the duration of sleep. Each luminous dot 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 more after the alarm signaled the rise, this conditionally hourglass has a special function. Just turn them over - in five minutes they will remind you again that it's time to get up.
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However, in the vast majority of cases, today you can buy an hourglass 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 aesthetic. But here the masters can give free rein to imagination. Hourglasses are placed in cases made of precious wood, decorated with intricate ornaments. Sometimes they are even encrusted with various precious stones. Such an antique table clock can be a highlight of the interior.
Masters from Thailand did not confine themselves to experiments on the outer decoration of watches. They probably remembered that inner beauty is much more important, only they took this statement too literally. As a result, instead of the usual sand, their hourglass was filled with small diamonds. The total weight of the precious filling was approximately 10,000 carats. These hourglasses are by far one of the most expensive. 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 cannot be a complex mechanism in this time meter in principle, and you can’t really conjure over the shape, it remains only to experiment with 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 top to the bottom in a period of time equal to 5 seconds.
Creating an hourglass of gigantic proportions seemed to be more exciting. There has even been some rivalry in this area.
The first such giant has a permanent residence permit in the sand museum, located in the Japanese city of Nimes. This hourglass was created in 1991. Their height is 5 m with a chamber diameter of 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 the 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 technology. They are equipped with a very complex semi-automatic mechanism, which, with the help of a computer, controls the pouring of sand. 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 are a gigantic granite circle that makes one complete revolution during the year. And on December 31, the chamber filled with sand moves up, and the annual countdown starts again. Moreover, this coup is carried out not by a computer program, but by a person who, however, uses cables and a simple mechanism to help move a heavy boulder. Thus, this hourglass symbolizes human perseverance and strength, which helped us overcome all obstacles for many centuries.
As conceived by the creators, the "Wheel of Time" symbolizes Hungary's entry into a new era of development.
However, after another four years, this record was broken. In 2008, the German automobile company BMW decided to install a kind of advertising on Red Square in anticipation of the presentation of a 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, 180,000 of these balls were used for this clock, as a result of which the total weight of the entire structure reached 40 tons. This hourglass was built within nine days and had to count down to July 8, 2008 - that's 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 metal balls periodically falling down, the car itself was in its upper chamber.
It turns out that today an hourglass is not so much a device for measuring time as an element of style or even an indicator of the high status and good taste of the owner.
Olya
