Writing a history of time means viewing human genius

through the prism of the steady mastery of a crucial technology.

The patient, long-term conquest of accuracy has been the result

of successive advances from sundial to wristwatch

up to the recent exploits of the heirs to this age-old quest,

namely master horologists of the twenty-first century.

The Mastery of Time relates the story of the

measurement of time, from the dawn of mankind to

the present day. Timekeeping devices have had a

major impact on the organization of life in society

and on agricultural and industrial production and

trade. In turn, they have reflected the advances and

needs of their time while nurturing great discoveries.

Dominique Fléchon juggles historical, scientific,

and human approaches to look at watchmaking as

both a science and an art, dedicating this book to

the genius of man, who never ceases to create

instruments of ever increasing complexity and

beauty in his untiring quest for precision. He

retraces the story from the first attempts to divide

time based on the observation of celestial bodies to

the most advanced measuring devices (mechanical,

electronic and atomic clocks). In so doing, he

establishes the link between this story and that of

mankind's progressive mastery of a world upon

which the Sun of Reason will never set again.

This profusely illustrated panorama is accompanied

by teaching tools that will make this book a working

reference for specialists as well as a source of

discovery for novices.