Daniel Quare – the visionary horologist
Clocks are not merely machines that keep time. They are pieces of art and beyond that. A clock blends different intricate technologies. The repetition mechanism of the clock you witness had been long invented by the visionary Englishman named Daniel Quare. He perfectly predicted the need for such a mechanism in clocks.
Daniel Quare was born in Somerset, in the year 1649. He was a distinguished Member of the Clockmaker Company (CC). Quare had a curious mind that made him experiment with the dynamics of how a clock worked and how it could be improved.
In the early days of his career, the subject of horology began to gain popularity and a clockmaker’s career was regarded as a stable source of income. The mechanism of clocks interested him and Quare worked relentlessly making clocks more efficient and flawlessly accurate.
Around 1680, he invented the now established (and universal) system of repetition of hours and quarters in watches. Quare is regarded as the pioneer of such an advanced mechanism implemented in the manufacturing process of repetition watches. He was admired for his work by the elite society of London and considered to be a clockmaker with exceptional talent.
An early quarter repeater with cylinder escapement
He faced a professional crisis in the year 1686. A man named Robert Barlow tried to patent his invention of repetition watches. Quare was supported by the Clockmaker Company (CC) in suing Barlow on this matter. He took the legal path. The verdict of the court went in Quare’s favour in 1687.
The quarter repeater mechanism usually hidden under the dial
By the end of 1700, Daniel Quare made significant progress to the minute display. He invented a mechanism that efficiently drove both the hour and minute hands simultaneously. Before Quare’s invention, the minute hand of the watch moved independently of the hour hand’s motion.
Quare married Mary, a daughter of a Buckinghamshire maltster, in 1676. He fathered three daughters. On March 21, 1724, he took his last breath at the age of 75 years. The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool displays the delicate Bracket Clock built by him. Daniel Quare is remembered as one of the most influential inventors who furthered the art and science and of art of horology.