Marine chronometer, c. 1880, Dupont & Son, Rotterdam
Inv V10350

As early as Huygens' day a competition was organised to find who could make a reliable timepiece for use at sea. Huygens made an attempt, which was a dismal failure. Only a century after Huygens did the Englishman John Harrison make a timepiece, the marine chronometer, which ran reliably. However, Harrison was not a recognised scientist and therefore was not paid the reward £ 20,000. After various protests he decided to appeal to the king. The latter judged that Harrison was entitled to the reward and hence must be given the money.
For use at sea the chronometers were mounted in elegant boxes. They were very valuable and the captain had the only key to the box. The chronometer had to be wound up every two days and always with an exact number of turns.
Astronomers used chronometers for measurements in the field and this instrument was used for this purpose.