Modern Navigation dates from 1762, when John Harrison's Chronometer reached the West Indies, after a voyage of sixty-one days, with an error of only five seconds.
The rich prize which Parliament had offered for half a century - twenty thousand pounds sterling - went to Harrison. His victory, after thirty years of struggle, hinged on his previous invention of the Compensating Pendulum.
Unlike the modern ship's-watch, his timepiece was not suspended in gimbals but carried on a pillow.
The world war set new standards in naval timekeeping. The torpedo boat, with its terrific vibration, baffled America's experts till Elgin railroad watches were adapted to the service, And the first acceptable ship's-watches supplied our navy in quantities sufficient to equip the U. S. Emergency Fleets were - as might have been expected -
Elgin Watches
The $150 Corsican in yellow gold - Three fifths actual size - An unretouched photograph
