Chronometrophilia
Encyclopedia
Chronometrophilia is described in its byline as the "Swiss Association for the History of Timekeeping / Association suisse pour l'histoire de la mesure du temps / Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die Geschichte der Zeitmessung". It is a group of collectors and enthusiasts interested in the history of horology
.
Given that Switzerland is quadrilingual, they needed a language-neutral name for their organisation. They invented the term chronometrophilia from the Greek chronos (time) and philia ("the love of"); and meter, a Teutonic word cognate to the Latin modius (bushel).
The association was founded in 1976 and unites collectors, scholars and museum professionals interested in the historical aspects of clocks and watches. Meetings are held about 4 times a year in various locations in Switzerland
and are usually conducted bilingually in French and German. Most meetings involve visits to museums, restoration workshops or private collections. Once a year the organization also organises an international study tour, travelling to a foreign locale to study historic horological artefacts.
"Chronometrophilia" is also the name of their semi-annual glossy, scholarly journal (published with articles in both French and German).
The administrative office of Chronometrophilia is located in La Chaux-de-Fonds
, a Swiss town in the Jura mountains
that is considered the focus of the Swiss watchmaking industry and which also houses the Musée International d'Horlogerie.
Its main sister organizations in other countries pursuing similar goals are:
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
.
Given that Switzerland is quadrilingual, they needed a language-neutral name for their organisation. They invented the term chronometrophilia from the Greek chronos (time) and philia ("the love of"); and meter, a Teutonic word cognate to the Latin modius (bushel).
The association was founded in 1976 and unites collectors, scholars and museum professionals interested in the historical aspects of clocks and watches. Meetings are held about 4 times a year in various locations in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and are usually conducted bilingually in French and German. Most meetings involve visits to museums, restoration workshops or private collections. Once a year the organization also organises an international study tour, travelling to a foreign locale to study historic horological artefacts.
"Chronometrophilia" is also the name of their semi-annual glossy, scholarly journal (published with articles in both French and German).
The administrative office of Chronometrophilia is located in La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
, a Swiss town in the Jura mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
that is considered the focus of the Swiss watchmaking industry and which also houses the Musée International d'Horlogerie.
Its main sister organizations in other countries pursuing similar goals are:
- Antiquarian Horological SocietyAntiquarian Horological SocietyThe Antiquarian Horological Society, abbreviated as AHS, is the British organization of scholars and enthusiasts of horology.The association was founded in 1953 and unites collectors, scholars and museum professionals interested in the historical aspects of horology – the study of the art,...
- AHS (United Kingdom) - Association Française des Amateurs d'Horlogerie Ancienne - AFAHA (France)
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für ChronometrieDeutsche Gesellschaft für ChronometrieDeutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie , today is an organization of scholars, collectors and enthusiasts in Germany interested in the science, art and history of horology.-History:...
- DGC (Germany) - HORA Associazione Italiana Cultori di Orologeria Antica (Italy)
- National Association of Watch and Clock CollectorsNational Association of Watch and Clock CollectorsThe National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors is an American non-profit organization with about 18,000 members.The NAWCC was founded in 1943 by members of the Horological Society of New York and the Philadelphia Watchmakers' Guild who wished to create a national organization...
- NAWCC (United States of America)