Bruce – Oosterwijck sea clocks

Huygens collaborated with Alexander Bruce on the project to build sea clocks, with the Scot introducing a number of new features to the Dutchman’s designs before having four sea clocks made, two of them by Severyn Oosterwijck.
By the end of 1662, Bruce’s initial sea-trials were proving promising. More formal sea-trials were carried out, with reports suggesting that the clocks had performed exceptionally well.
However, these reports eventually proved to be inaccurate. Captain Robert Holmes, who had been entrusted with the trials of the clocks (though his attention was clearly more devoted to plundering Dutch merchant shipping), had reported implausible success beyond even the best hopes for the clocks. Samuel Pepys was asked to investigate, and it transpired that the glowing reports were entirely fictitious. Despite the optimism of the 1660s and extensive discussions over patents and profits, the new marine timekeepers turned out not to be the solution that had been hoped for.
It was another century before the English clockmaker John Harrison would famously solve the longitude problem.

Learn more: National Museums Scotland – Sea clocks

Alexander Bruce