Sheraton barometer on a door bar

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

A sip of magnificent history

In 1845, Italian manufacturer of precision instruments, Onorato Comitti, traveled to England seeking a new future in a country enjoying unprecedented prosperity from the Industrial Revolution. In 1850, he opened his workshops alongside other specialists in Clerkenwell, London. Dedicated to the pursuit of perfection and innovation, he quickly gained an unmatched reputation for his recording instruments, including the highest quality mercury and aneroid barometers. During 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 brand, run by the fifth generation, faithful to Onorato Comitti’s principles and maintaining an international reputation for luxury clocks in the finest traditions of English watchmaking.

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 custom 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, were employed using exotic woods sourced worldwide to create and decorate visible areas of the finest clock cabinets. Longcase clocks produced by Comitti today reflect all the skills and traditions of the bygone era. The highest quality seasoned solid hardwoods and exquisite veneers were chosen for their natural beauty. Veneers are cut, joined, inlaid with inlay work, and assembled by hand, making each piece unique.

Manual French polishing processes are used to enhance the natural beauty of the cabinet. 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 polished 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 decoration created by forming 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 fine 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 directly influenced furniture designers, especially for Longcase clocks. For the first time, home furnishings became aspirational, driven by fashion and the highest standards of design inspired by technical education and classical architecture. Comitti artisans continue to produce inlays 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 navigation invention have to do with Comitti clocks?

At the beginning of the 18th century, the biggest problem faced by navigators was calculating longitude, and thus determining their true position in the vastness of the oceans. Countless lives were lost because ships were wrecked in unknown waters, which is why the British Parliament offered a reward of £20,000 for a solution equivalent to approximately £2,770,000 in today's currency. There were two schools of thought on solving this problem: astronomers, who believed that true longitude could be calculated using stars, and horologists, who understood that an extremely precise 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 accurate timekeeping device ever created—that, importantly, would keep precise 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.