Watchlords

Timepieces designed specifically for transport date back to 1798, when Breguet made a carriage clock for Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte was a general in the French Army, before becoming the first emperor of France in 1804.

In 1798, as a 29-year-old general in the French army, Napoleon was preparing for a campaign against Egypt and Syria to defend French trade routes. Just a few weeks before leaving for his campaign, he purchased a Breguet carriage clock, to help time his military advances. The record of his purchase can still be found in books at Breguet’s boutique in Paris. It was a quarter repeating calendar clock, which also included a moon-phase complication, and can be viewed at its new location at the Swiss National Museum.

These early travel or ‘carry’ clocks were bulky and would typically be bound in a leather case and used for timekeeping by the affluent in the era before cars. As pocket watches became more affordable throughout the 19th century, they would typically be hung over the front board of the carriage.

https://montrespubliques.com/new-long-r ... -car-clock