Horological Meandering

justpen
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I find Sundials a good companion watch to Breguets

 
Hi All,

Sundials were one of the first time-tellers to captivate my interest in horology.

As a child, I often put a stake in the ground and marked where the shadow was, as the hours fell.

I learned this art from a Phantom Comic book I read at the age of sbout 8.

In just about every home I have owned, I have installed a Sundial on a very permanent brick or sandstone base.

In every base, I have always placed a sealed Newspaper of the day, and a coin, dated at the same year that I built the sundial and base.

Hopefully in many years time.... someone will happily find a piece of unexpected history at many of their homes.

Ironically, progressing to much more complex watches, (and might I just add.... having two Breguets which have been absent for many months getting warranty service) ..... by necessity,  a few months ago I had to choose another watch.

I went through my watch collection and resurrected one of my favorite and almost forgotten timetellers.

A Pocket Sundial.... I aquired it about 40 years ago.

I thought ... this is a good time to enjoy reliability.

These, in varying configurations,  were used by sailors in ancient times.

Mine has a small, and beautiful, needle pointer which can be raised or concealed.

To use it...... is simply a case of raising the needle, pointing the compass to North, adjusting for Magnetic Variation, holding it level, and taking into account solar time variation.

Of course I don't worry about Solar Time.... I use a real watch for flying.

But it is a beautiful Pocket Sundial that I am so happy that I picked up so many, many years ago.

I now cary it on my car key ring and find it works to within about 10 minutes.

Where I live there is a magnetic variation of 11 Degrees East... so I have to adjust the compass  to accommodate this magnetic variation.

But it matters not where in the world you are... if you know the magnetic variation, you can adjust it accordingly.

Pilots and ship navigators in the southern hemisphere will know what I mean when I say...... 'East is Least... West is Best" ...... Northern hemisphere guys will also understand..... but when magnetically corrected, and taking into account without the equation of solar time, it still gives a very accurate measurement of an average of  7 minutes error.

When you get used to the seasons.... this can be accurate to within a couple of minutes.

Sundials are true,  one of the most honest timekeepers available...and always will give true time, if positioned to their geographical location, adjusted for magnetic variation and adjusted for consider Solar time.

A great post Andrew... I have about 12 sundials in my collection.... and it is good to see them mentioned.

Now when I am walking down the street,  holding my pocket sundial to the north...and level,  I will not be so concerned by the odd looks. ( Not that I ever cared though )

Kindest regards,
Jack

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