An amazing Congreve clock with a rolling ball on the desk

Congreve, or the clock with a rolling ball, was named after its inventor Sir William Congreve and is a favorite among clock collectors. The original clock was gifted to the Prince of Wales in 1808 and is part of the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. Congreve was a prolific inventor known for creating the first solid-fuel rockets at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in 1805, which were later used during the Napoleonic Wars. It has been suggested that his clock was created for military purposes, and the first “ball” used to flip the escapement was a musket ball!! This certainly makes sense, as the mechanism operates on the principle that its accuracy is limited to +/- 15 minutes per day.

Exclusive design from England combined with the highest quality materials creates the Comitti manufactory.

A sip of magnificent history

In 1845, Italian precision instrument maker Onorato Comitti traveled to England seeking new opportunities in a country thriving on the unprecedented prosperity of the Industrial Revolution. By 1850, he had opened his workshop along with other specialists in Clerkenwell, London. Dedicated to the pursuit of perfection and innovation, he quickly gained an unmatched reputation for his recording instruments, including high-quality mercury and aneroid barometers. In the late Victorian period, the company became renowned as one of the best clockmakers in England, receiving an Honorary Diploma for craftsmanship in 1888. Over 150 years later, Comitti remains a family-owned brand, run by the fifth generation, faithful to Onorato Comitti’s principles and maintaining an international reputation for luxury clocks in the finest English horological tradition.

Original Comitti barometers and clocks from those early days are now sought-after and valuable antiques. Interestingly, some styles created by Comitti at the end of the 19th century are still produced today, using many of the same techniques and attracting the same wonder as always. This heritage allows the company to offer bespoke maintenance and restoration services for all antique clocks and barometers. It was the architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries that inspired the greatest English furniture designers, Thomas Sheraton, George Hepplewhite, and Thomas Chippendale. The fashion for the highest quality cabinetry created by these craftsmen influenced watchmakers as well.

Georgia-style craftsmanship and skills of master artisans, such as veneer cutters and inlay makers, have been employed using exotic woods sourced worldwide to craft and decorate the visible areas of the finest clock cabinets. The long clock cabinets produced by Comitti today reflect all the skills and traditions of a bygone era. The highest quality seasoned solid hardwoods and exquisite veneers have been selected for their natural beauty. Veneers are cut, joined, inlaid with inlay work, and assembled by hand, making each piece unique.

The processes of hand-polishing using French polishing techniques are employed to enhance the natural beauty of the cabinets. The pores of the wooden surfaces are filled and sanded with fine papers to create a smooth base before applying lacquers. Finally, the surface is burnished and waxed with beeswax to achieve a rich natural patina. The long clock produced by Comitti is a work of art, a heritage piece that will be treasured by future generations.

Products made using inlay techniques

Inlay is an art form traceable back to early Egyptian and Assyrian craftsmen and is essentially a decorative technique involving creating patterns or images from veneers of wood or other materials. The zenith of inlay art occurred between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when craftsmanship reached the status of high art thanks to royal patronage in France.

The arrival of William of Orange with his wife Mary and their court in 1689 sparked the fashion for this highly decorative craft in England. It had a direct influence on furniture designers, especially on longcase clock cabinets. For the first time, home furnishings became an aspiration driven by fashion and the highest standards of design inspired by technical education and classical architecture. Artisans at Comitti continue to produce marquetry according to these high standards using traditional techniques and noble, rare woods. The time required to create these intricate panels is measured in days, and each piece is unique.

What does the invention of navigation have to do with Comitti clocks?

In the early 18th century, the greatest challenge faced by navigators was calculating longitude, and thus determining their true position in the vast oceans. Countless lives were lost as ships were wrecked in uncharted waters, prompting the British Parliament to offer a reward of £20,000—equivalent to £2,770,000 today—for a solution. There were two schools of thought on solving this problem: astronomers, who believed true longitude could be calculated using stars, and horologists, who understood that an extremely accurate clock would enable the calculation of east-west position or longitude.

For many years, John Harrison, a self-taught English clockmaker, invented the marine chronometer—the most precise timekeeping device ever created—which, importantly, maintained accurate time onboard ships in extreme temperatures, humidity, and conditions. The Comitti Navigator is a tribute to the skill, ingenuity, and perseverance of one man who changed the course of history.
Manufacturer information