Ship clock

The featured ship clock can be safely assumed to have been a piece of outfit for a French naval unit, as its manufacturer, Auricoste, has been closely associated with the French military, the navy and aviation in particular, almost since its inception in 1854. The company was founded by Émile Thomas (active 1854-1913), a renowned watchmaker and specialist in marine chronometers, with whom Joseph Auricoste (1880-1960) began working in 1898. Auricoste soon became Thomas's partner and later took over the factory and named it after himself. His products were awarded prizes at the World Exhibition in Paris. After the Second World War, under the administration of Joseph's son Pierre Auricoste, in collaboration with the Swiss company Patek Philippe (1839- ) Auricoste installed the first electromechanical timekeeping network on the French Navy’s Warships. Still in operation today, the company has been supplying the French military and government institutions with high-quality chronometers continuously for more than 80 years. Ship clocks, also known as chronometers, were used to govern shipboard life, but were primarily used in navigation. Hence, they had to be impervious to temperature changes, and their airtight fitting was designed to protect them from moisture. Now superseded by electronic clocks and satellite navigation, chronometers were mainly placed in the chart cabin, on the platform, wheelhouse or later in the engine room and on piers. Leszek Kocela