COMITTI - The Navigator Clock

Over a period of many years John Harrison a self taught English clockmaker invented the marine chronometer, the most accurate timekeeper ever created which importantly would keep accurate time aboard a pitching ship and in extremes of heat, cold and humidity. This extraordinary achievement allowed marine navigators to establish their longitude position on the high seas for the first time. The COMITTI Navigator is a tribute to the skill, ingenuity and tenacity of one man who changed the course of history.

[@alfredocomitti2351]

Me sinto muito orgulhoso ao ver relógios de alta qualidade com a marca Comitti

[@cat637d]

That was amazing and enjoyable! Hail Britannia and the Comitti!

[@Rockanory247]

Absolutely amazing engineering. Those balances blow my mind!

[@johnpartridge7623]

Beautiful piece of Time Keeping & it's good to see that "Not Everything" is made in China, Great Britain still has some original manufacture & long may it continue to do so.

[@dominickcolasanto6582]

Top notch quality still exists you just have to pay for it in the long run its worth it for sure.

[@rowanshole]

Magnificent, and I wish I could have one as a tribute to Mr. Harrison. But for me John Harrisons greatest achievements are his wooden long case regulators which achieved an accuracy of 1 second a month in the 1870s. What is more amazing is that these wood clocks alongside H1, H2, and H3 are still running and keeping time 3 centuries on.

[@BrackenClockWorks]

We have one of these made by Comitti for sale, and on display, in our shop in Berea, Ohio! The craftsmanship is extraordinary!!

[@21jlxi]

As a Nautical Cartographer, this was compulsory learning, as it made such a big impact on navigation. Very interesting, if I win lotto, this'll be on the shopping list! Thanks for the video.

[@stevejwilliams61]

Hardly believe he built something like that 300 years ago. Genius.

[@Journeyman53]

And they are still running.

[@1943vermork]

Clock works were the rocket science of its time. Cutting edge research and development on materials and mechanical components back then.

[@JoeyPinter]

i went to England just to see a couple things. Blighs grave, Greenwich and Harrison's clocks. great video. i would love to have one.

[@stevek8829]

I wonder how Bligh navigated the launch with no time. Maybe a watch? They left him his sextant. His journal of that voyage is quite a read.

[@JoeyPinter]

@@stevek8829 Bligh had a watch, no chronometer. he also had "sailing directions" it was the 18th century version of the Nautical Almanack that we have today. he had very few tables like we have today. in actual fact in 1789 there weren't a lot of preprinted calculations, all the navigation in those days had to be mathematically worked out or as a navigator would say "reduce the sight" and "dead reconning". Bligh made a log line which figured the speed they're going and combined with his genius level navigating and boat handling..

[@stevek8829]

@@JoeyPinter it's been a long time since reading his log of that voyage. I don't remember him mentioning navigation at all. Loaded to the gunnels, dehydrated and starving, he brought all but one thousands of miles. One was killed by locals who didn't appreciate diversity. I don't see how he could know where he was after a few days. Maybe sunrise tables helped guess longitude. He sure proved technical competence.

[@kinklesstetrode]

It is so nice to see true craftsmen. I had the misfortune to mess my Comitti barometer up. I called the company later in the day and a very helpful chap (Mr. Barker) helped me out, sending me details as to how to remove bubbles from my barometer and a quote for a replacement glass. Wonderful service. Long may it continue.

[@stevekiberd3474]

Such amazing skill. If I ever become rich i will buy one of these clocks and the pocket watch.

[@charlesxix]

What an absolute work of art, even as an ornament it is beautiful, the fact you can tell the time with it is a bonus. Great video, thanks.

[@TheGearhead222]

A fascinating video and a genius of a Clocksmith!-John in Texas

[@kipling1957]

The best book I’ve read on this whole topic is “Longitude.”

[@Humble_Electronic_Musician]

This was an awesome video. I would never imagine to look 13 hours to a video of a clock, but here i am and i am glad i did. A masterpiece !

[@HarryWHill-GA]

It is hard to overstate what an accurate ship's clock meant to navigation. I highly recommend "The Longitude Prize" to anyone interested.

[@andrzejkowal1752]

Amazing masterpiece. Buying this clock seems to be like bringing the Harrison's clock home :)

[@ozimerman111]

No. Look at any picture of H1-4. These are fake and the price is ridiculous.

[@nathonbrown3596]

that clock is beyond words

[@OVATSUG2]

Wow!!! beautiful watch!!!😱

[@chuckjunod1264]

I have a Comitti Great Wheel and the Comitti Barograph. I have always admired this Navigator and will someday own one. This is a great video to see how they are made.

[@fokkerd3red618]

Amazing craftsmanship. Why did Parliament wait 40 years to pay this Genius.

[@jamesnicholson3313]

Not only extremely interesting but ever so beautiful to look at, Thankyou so much. Jim from AUSTRALIA.

[@briancarpenter6961]

Amazing engineering.

[@jean-pierrem34]

Love it!

[@davidlong6173]

Great video so interesting.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

BRAVO!

[@minicar47]

Prachtig wat zou ik graag in deze werkplaats eens willen kijken. Om dat ik klok verzamelaar ben het is mijn grote hobby 👌

[@rewind9536]

And after all this work for thousands of years, it turns out time is relative.

[@trecker59]

What a great vid

[@tadeuszmironowicz4737]

Super!!!

[@SisyphusTwo]

Niiiiiice story..

[@paulnicholson1906]

Even though the chronometer revolutionized navigation the lunar distance method of determining longitude was more widely used for a long time since chronometers were not easy to come by or cheap. H1 was only a prototype and was never used although it did go to sea to test.

[@johnmorrison1180]

Doesn’t tell the whole story of Harrison’s famous final masterpiece, that giant clock shown wasn’t his final design, look again at his portrait, the time piece shown was about one quarter the size the size and no swinging weights, he never did receive the full prize money as offered in the competition despite Captain Cook taking his final clock to sea and declaring it to be perfect.

[@charlesgantz5865]

It took the King intervening for Harrison to finally get his money. The reason for the delay was that the Astronomer Royal had a competing method to measure longitude involving complicated measurements of the moon. The Astronomer Royal was responsible for approving Harrison's clock, and since the Astronomer Royal was also hoping to win the prize money, he slow rolled the approval and kept putting more conditions on the acceptance. The lunar method never did really work, and it was far too complicated for use at sea.

[@charleslayton9463]

Yes, I seem to remember reading years ago that the balanced pendulum style clocks like the one featured here were subtly thrown off their accuracy by one or another of the specific motions that a ship makes. Don't remember if it was rolling, pitching, or turning, though I think it might have been turning. Also, those clocks were massive and so exceedingly delicate that life at sea wasn't for them. As John Morrison said, the actual winning instrument was the chronograph that was the shape of a very large pocket watch. I don't remember if Harrison's first was mounted in a box on gimbals or not, in the same way that mechanical ships chronometers are still mounted (though of course, almost no seafarers rely on a mechanical chronometer any more. Between radio signals for time and GPS, it is truly an antique.) On most ships that used a chronometer, that wasn't the instrument that actually gave the person using the sextant the time. Instead, there was a second, portable chronometer watch that was calibrated to the ship's chronometer frequently. A lovely video about very interesting modern clocks. Thanks so much!

[@johnmorrison1180]

The disgraceful thing is Harrison never was paid the full amount of prise money as advertised in the competition despite the kings intervention. I surmise the astronomer royal was defiantly holding a goodly portion back in order to pay himself a share as well. Corruption in high places wasn’t unheard of.

[@robertridgeway4727]

@@charleslayton9463 no MK

[@iamcarbonandotherbits.8039]

And he wasn't taken seriously because he was by trade a cabinet maker and knew nothing about working in brass. If you want to know how badly he was treated watch the movie Longitude.

[@kevp6488]

I would love to see someone attempt making a clock using only the tools Harrison used. Edit- Cmon Royal Family, this guy helped you conquer the frickin sea. Pay the man his money!!

[@marktuggle5609]

You should take a look at clickspring. On his channel, he makes a clock by hand from scratch.

[@kevp6488]

@@marktuggle5609 Legend, thanks bro.

[@2adamast]

A price offered by the British Parliament is not the Royal Family

[@zogzog1063]

Wow! Double Wow!!

[@fishtree2636]

John Harrison was despised by the Longitude board who backed the Royal patronage of Flamstead's Moons of Jupiter, the board did all they could to frustrate and prevent Harrison from winning the £10,000 prize. The real lesson from Harrison's achievements is that while he or rather his son finally won through to collect the prize, the real story is how regulators and stakeholder self interest delayed innovation and obstructed Harrison from being recognised during his lifetime. As an inventor of improved energy efficiency above and beyond that recognised in regulations, my experience is that of being told that my invention saves too much gas and therefore discredits the statements of the regulatory authorities.

[@every1665]

So often I notice that the really great ideas, inventions, discoveries, art works, compositions etc are the product of a single mind. Committees seem only to get in the way and ruin things. Anyone who has worked for a government organization or large corporation will know this.

[@andrewgillis3073]

Actually, the full prize was never awarded to Harrison or his son. The king gave him a grant because the board, led by Sir Haley, of Haley’s comet fame, refused to award the prize.

[@VenturiLife]

A real Time Lord.

[@debusinha9015]

Just think British empire wouldn't have been a world colonizer without this invention....

[@peterfireflylund]

No. It took a while after Harrison’s clocks before they were truly practical and widespread. What people used instead was astronomical observations and books full tables for when various moons would appear around Jupiter (and maybe also Saturn).

[@stevek8829]

@@peterfireflylund Wrong, very wrong. Astronomical observations require time for their elevation measurement to have any relevance. What drivel, the moons of Jupiter! Their relative motion is slow while the earth turns fast. Study celestial navigation and see what you have minus time.

[@openclockclubarchive325]

Is that Alexi Sayle doing the Narration?

[@toml.8210]

I wouldn't mind having one of the scratched or dented rejects! I adjust most of my watches and clocks weekly, according to my atomic clock.

[@davidbrazier9246]

I iove the Scouse commentary.

[@williamfraser]

Would the Graham deadbeat escapement also work for this type of balanced pendulum motion?

[@robertnorwood9480]

I do not believe so. This uses the grasshopper escapement.

[@romanregman1469]

We depend on timekeeping instruments which depend on matter acting in a timely fashion which depends on time which depends on how matter acts which depends on time which.... Is there such a thing as time or matter, since matter is dependent on time and time depends on matter?

[@petersmith5199]

Some 40 odd years ago or more, the company I worked for, Beech and Son in Swanley kent used O Comitti and Sons in Clerkenwell London for spare parts for Barometers as far as I remember. I was not aware until watching this that they made clocks? There is also a comment below referring to Sinclair Harding. Could they be the maunufacter of Beauch Girod watches? (Forgive my spelling) I went to Hackney

[@petersmith5199]

I went to Hackney Poly with a chap called Terry, a super piano player in the pub at lunchtime, when we did our BHI course there...

[@amaurirodrigues212]

BOM DIA. QUANTO CUSTA UM RELOGIO COMO ESTE QUE FOI MONTADO DURANTE O VIDEO?? E PARA ENVIAR PARA O BRASIL? OBRIGADO

[@gowdsake7103]

OK they are hand built, but honestly all CNC so shakes head at 12000 quid

[@tietduy5874]

Tuyệt vời xin tham khảo giá cảm ơn!

[@josepeixoto3384]

Holly smokes! humankind never ceases to amaze me; no longer a need for that,cellphones tell the time with precision avoid

[@TobailaGib]

The irony of someone discussing accuracy and talking about inches.

[@tonyking9235]

WISH I COULD AFORD ONE . HO WELL AT LEAST I GET TO LOOK

[@j.lietka9406]

Mr Barker, have you, or your esteemed colleagues, ever made an "Orrey"? Or an "Armillary" (although not a clock)? Thank you 🤓

[@xusmico187]

h1 cut by hand, wow

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Would be great to have the blueprint of it

[@brianingarfill1773]

Great video. I knew the story (didn't know that he had to wait 40 years to get his money-perhaps the Tory's were in power!!!) LOL LOL

[@vahteddineker8701]

Seri üretim yapılıyormu ustan

[@markiskool]

So now I know where the phrase Greenwich Mean time comes from!

[@stevek8829]

Congrats Jr. How old are you?

[@robertgift]

Surprised when cotton gloves are worn only on one hand. On ships were the clocks suspended on ropes which allowed them to swing and remain less affected by the ship's movement?

[@philgiglio7922]

Usually mounted in a wooden box with gimbals to keep it 'level'. As an aside, US Navy ships carried 3 such chronometers. After the war swiss watch execs inspected the Bulova, Elgin, and Benrus plants. When told how many of each type of watch made they said they couldn't have accomplished it. Also these plants were the only wartime plants under 24/7/365 Marine guard

[@jimaanders7527]

These are beautiful clocks for about 15K-16K USD

[@philgiglio7922]

A Patek Phillipe will set you back about $100,000 for a top line watch.

[@jorges1985]

🙏😀

[@lawrencebishton9071]

Ye old glory ye old qauntum qaurts clock a qauntum16 bit 2 32 is a highly precise clock so ive clocked has noted to B gold particles may not be of information that is owned by another but rather of me so when your ready

[@frydemwingz]

the reason it's such a classic story is that the useless government didnt want to pay the money they owed Harrison

[@DNModels]

Someone should make a video what exactly government paid Harrison for the result.

[@erwinpatio8160]

Time Lord - reminds me of Dr. Who

[@alo1236546]

The invisible inertia enemy

[@vizmortlock]

shame about the flashing bits near the top of the video. Had to skip it and should have had a warning.

[@santatigerclaus]

we got 10 gallon containers of cyanide in at Motor Wheel for pickling the steel

[@locomotech6302]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🎩

[@nebojsanesic5326]

How good can it actually be if it was designed by Da Vinchi? The man didn't made a single machine in his entire life! It took him over 30 years to paint a single portrait!!!

[@wilkinson8707]

Chipping Ongar Essex, not London.

[@sblack48]

Why did the admiralty keep jerking Harrison around long after he had provided an accurate practical chronometer? Was it because members had personal investments in his competitors for the prize?

[@2adamast]

Who knows, maybe the price = 1/3 of a ship

[@stevek8829]

Maybe they're Welsh?

[@jamespython5147]

7:27 you would think after all that he would be wearing cotton gloves.

[@iamcarbonandotherbits.8039]

These people are talking about setting their machines to nano tolerances, yet John Harrison built all of his clocks and later, watches by hand. Where has this skill gone, did it die out altogether or are there still men or women who still build clocks and watches by hand in Britain today.

[@zumwild]

Yes it died out altogether. A UK professor purchased tools from widows of watchmakers and in a few cases collected descriptions of their use from the last few watchmakers. Sadly he died before writing it up. George Daniels (Author of Watchmaking) examined and repaired old watches after looking at the tools, but in many cases it was guesswork and experimentation. Daniels wrote his method up in the book on watchmaking. Malcom Wild wrote a book on making gears without CNC, describing how to make gear cutters. Those two books are bibles really and watchmakers are making watches from raw materials using these methods, a few without CNC. There are drawings of children powering lathes with their hands and feet for the old watchmakers, so powered lathes are OK I guess. Richard Smith has some good videos on KZbin, one of him cutting gears on a Lathe with a milling attachment.

[@wilcaroll1410]

Is that Ricky Tomlinson my arse i have a comitti clock

[@mohikan2226]

is that scott rea???!? voicing?

[@andrewgillis3073]

This is totally misleading. Harrison’s first three clocks did not keep time well enough at sea. This video shows the first design. It wasn’t until his fourth design that he achieved his goal. H-4 looked like a large pocket watch.

[@stevek8829]

If Wales wasn't part of UK, would parliament have Welched?

[@elizajayne2888]

I see now . I understand now . The clock that produced energy due to the speed of the windings. The crown seeks the power of the time machine... Ever see a clock produce energy ? I have ... While you use a 12 hour disk , we used a 24 hour disk . A clock that produces energy due to the spinning face .... I built a self perpetual energy producing clock ... It’s the drive for my time machine that runs on disk drive ... How about that .... A clock is the engine of my time machine that produces energy...

[@MrStevos]

I was hoping to see how John Harrison Built his first clock ! Not some CNC computer... 😞

[@WICKEDMAN85]

Plenty of other videos on how John Harrison built his legendary clocks on KZbin!

[@MrStevos]

@@WICKEDMAN85 yes but not what the title of video said ?

[@Slarti]

What's with the music playing? Bach, Handel and Mozart. Surely only Handel would be appropriate.

[@francoistombe]

It is Handel.

[@jamespython5147]

The music is too racy! I feel totally rushed! You don't need all that noise!

[@kopynd1]

manfacturing is simple compared to harrison, gearing is genius maths

[@kopynd1]

nothing much has changed with the government, still takes 40yrs to get yu money

[@locomotech6302]

Very very nice achievements!! And even an honorable history in the field But when you say: maritime nation?? Of course, you don't mean aquatic creatures So be careful not to confuse aggression against other "beyound of sea peoples", with beautiful technologies! Marine nation, do you mean they lived under the sea, or carried cannons that burned coastal cities? If this is the case, then let it be, no matter how proud you are, it will remain a mere “interfering” with the goods of peoples and exclusion, and even killing the indigenous people relentlessly! If some maritime... want to continue benefiting from tolerance or simply neglecting peoples and for your accountability before the peoples can be delayed, then be proud of your technology And you cannot be proud of the wars and hardships you have caused to the inhabitants of beyond your seas

[@iamcarbonandotherbits.8039]

You can't build the greatest empire the world has ever known without casualties.

[@locomotech6302]

ah "world" Why don't you consider the world with us to be our great empire for all times and for everyone. I hope you don't underestimate "everyone". We do not become strong, do not differentiate, do not deceive each other, and do not have to fight until we see the greatness? Civilizations and with them what I called empires come and go with their goodness and greatness But only her "actions" remain, especially if it includes crimes and the initiation of extra wars. There is no talk at that about the good, and is there any point in talking about causality?

[@stevek8829]

@@locomotech6302 nothing like a pretend moralistic moronic child for entertainment. Thanks! Loco

[@p.istaker8862]

Such a shame that a Taiwanese built machining centre is being used in the manufacture.

[@moshesabag6004]

After long struggles,the prize was given to his grandson...

[@jhvorlicky]

"The people from the British Isles are extraordinarily innovative." This sort of historically ignorant and superior statement does rather spoil an otherwise good video. I don't take what "my" country represents for granted, but let's not pretend the ability to innovate is anything other than randomly distributed.

[@bloggalot4718]

The British invented, among other things, the television, the jet engine, the internet and the first electronic computer which was used in World War Two.

[@stevek8829]

Why don't you pretend it is randomly distributed. But, it isn't and wasn't.

[@lawrencebishton9071]

Why thejoseph who son of the other is mapping me for the car to g e o grathi

[@union310]

As soon as you see a cnc machine you know they are not the best.

[@charlesgantz5865]

Why do you say that?

[@union310]

@@charlesgantz5865 How can you claim quality of craftsmanship when a cnc machine profiles everything. A cnc machine is not a craftsman. Craftsmanship is using human skill to produce a quality item in finish and working ability.

[@rozinant1237]

Why would you say that? The CNC machine is simply cutting out the frame, and it does so to an accuracy of 10 microns. For a human to make something to that accuracy would take a huge amount of time. Instead they use the human touch at the end, to fine tune the accuracy of the timekeeping.

[@union310]

@@rozinant1237 Your comment my friend answered exactly what I said, I can and that is skill. There is no skill in a numeric machine.

[@rozinant1237]

You have no idea what you are talking about! There isn’t a watch or clock made today that isn’t built with sophisticated machinery. I suppose a lathe is OK to use, but a CNC machine is not? What nonsense.

[@ozimerman111]

This is not a replica of any of Harrison’s clocks. It has a smell of H1. The guy deceives by saying J. Harrison was a carpenter, but he does not say H1-4 are made of wood, the gear is made with lignum Vitae. They looked at H1-4 and said, stupid people will pay a lot of money for a “replica,” and H1 looks interesting so people will buy it. Do not fool yourself, these are not timekeepers, they are fake. I bet H1 is more accurate than these fake.

[@entertainme7523]

it's made in England? 😂😂😂

[@keithbrister1904]

Nice clock, but you could buy something real decent for £12k

[@donaldasayers]

How does that compare to the Sinclair Harding version of the same clock?

[@neilbarnett3046]

Stopped listening earlier than I expected, I couldn't bear any more haych-1 clocks. The narrator sounds like Parker for Thunderbirds. It's pronounced "aitch". Hexcept hin bloomin' Hessex and the hestuary, hinnit?

[@vinylrecords7597]

Nothing speciall.. Swiss clockmaker are the best..

[@dalane5196]

Yes, but they are working in the footsteps of the real inventors and masters of quality and accurate time keepers, the British. British Chronometers were know the world over and coveted for their accuracies, back in a time when keeping accurate time was a matter of life and death, not a nice designer dress watch. The British invented and developed the most accurate time keepers, then moved onto other things like trains and railways, Radio, Television, stainless steel, steam ships, Geology, Oceanography, computers, Penicillin, vaccines and just about everything else in daily use in the modern world. While the Swiss stayed playing around perfecting and making watches, very good watches that the world no longer really needs. That is why its called GMT Greenwich Mean Time, not BMT or Bern Mean Time. Between the British and the Swiss, there is no comparison in inventiveness, the British are in a league all of their own. But the Swiss should not be to worried about that, every other nation on the planet is in the same position, the Japanese University of Technology estimated that 78% of everything in common use today was developed by the British.