A skilled constructor, audacious and tenacious inventor, Ferdinand Berthoud was one of the pillars of horological progress in the 18th century. Beyond his career, which was marked by an accumulation of titles, tokens of recognition, and privileges at the court of the King of France—a success notably earned for his marine chronometers—the watchmaker Berthoud was above all a man eager for knowledge, and keen to share it with as many people as possible.
Ferdinand Berthoud, Master Watchmaker and Professor
Ferdinand Berthoud was one of those men who aspired as much to develop their knowledge as to transmit it to the greatest number of people; this is why publications and teaching were part of his work, just like his horological inventions. The man, who wrote several articles on horology for Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, and who published a first popular science work in 1759, L’Art de conduire et de régler les pendules et les montres à l’usage de ceux qui n’ont aucune connaissance d’horlogerie, was far from an elitist scientist secluded in his art. Berthoud was a great innovator and a generous personality who, rather than keeping his knowledge to himself and his peers, wished above all to share it.
Berthoud was born in Switzerland, in the land of watchmaking, on March 18, 1727, in Plancemont-sur-Couvet, into a prominent family that itself worked in the field of timepieces. When he was 14, his brother Jean-Henry took him on as an apprentice clockmaker in Couvet; he also benefited from a solid scientific education.
We are in the midst of the Age of Enlightenment, and it is in Paris, the center of intellectual and scientific influence of the time, that events unfold, under the reign of Louis XV. At 18, in 1745, Ferdinand Berthoud settled there to perfect his profession as a watchmaker-clockmaker, alongside the master watchmakers of the Parisian community. The setting was ideal, and Berthoud was able to freely cultivate his talents in science, engineering, and mechanics – talents that would gradually lead him to become one of the greatest watchmakers in history.
Berthoud was only 26 when he received the title of Master Watchmaker, by special favor of the King of France. A year earlier, in 1752, he had impressed the jury of the Royal Academy of Sciences by submitting for their judgment a project for the manufacture of an equation clock, a brilliant proof of his exceptional talents in horology. It was the glowing report from the academicians that prompted the king to grant him his mastership, even though he was still too young to claim such an honor. Berthoud was then able to open his own workshop in Paris, and his reputation only grew. This unstoppable success culminated with the writing of articles for the Encyclopédie, published between 1751 and 1772 under the direction of Diderot and d’Alembert, as well as the publication of his first popular science work in 1759.
Marine Chronometers
At that time, the question of measuring longitudes preoccupied the scientific world. In France as in England, governments promised such rewards – and such high prestige – that the most talented watchmakers became interested in this problem, notably John Harrison in London. In 1763, Berthoud was moreover commissioned by the king to go to England and examine Harrison’s marine clock – a mission to which the latter categorically objected. The French watchmaker did not waste his time, as he was elected “foreign associate member” of the Royal Society of London on February 16, 1764.
But before that, there was 1760, when Berthoud submitted a “Mémoire sur les principes de construction d’une Horloge de Marine” to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. In 1761, he completed and presented Marine Clock No. 1. In 1766, he proposed the construction of marine clocks No. 6 and 8. Once completed, these were entrusted by the Duke of Praslin to Chevalier de Fleurieu, an explorer and hydrographer, who was to test them during a voyage aboard his corvette, L’Isis, to Saint-Domingue. This full-scale trial was a success, particularly for No. 8, which calculated longitude to within half a degree. These two clocks, like many other works signed by Berthoud, are currently preserved at the Musée des arts et métiers (Museum of Arts and Crafts).
Berthoud continued his research, particularly in the direction of improving the precision of his marine clocks. Through persistent work on compensating for the effects of temperature variations, he discovered mean compensation in 1768; in parallel, he developed various escapements. In any case, he dedicated himself to the field of marine horology, bringing his nephew Pierre-Louis, himself a talented young watchmaker-clockmaker, from Switzerland to assist him in the creation and maintenance of mechanisms intended for the French and Spanish Navies.
His (indirect) successes at sea led Berthoud to be appointed, in 1770, Horologist-Mechanic to the King and the Navy. He was also responsible for supplying the French Admiralty with marine chronometers, indispensable tools for the cartography and hydrography campaigns that would mark the end of the 18th century. In total, Ferdinand Berthoud designed, produced, and delivered about ten weight-driven or spring-driven clocks to the Admiralty. True to his ambition, he also dedicated himself to transmitting his knowledge through two new works, in 1773 and 1775: the Traité des horloges marines (Treatise on Marine Clocks), which detailed the manufacture of such an object, and then Les longitudes par la mesure du temps (Longitudes by the Measurement of Time).
In the year of his final work’s publication, 1807, Ferdinand Berthoud passed away. He was laid to rest in Groslay, in the Val d’Oise, where a monument commemorates his memory. He left behind an extraordinary body of work, of unparalleled scope, consisting of clocks, watches, marine chronometers, as well as scientific measuring instruments and specialized or popular science works.
Berthoud’s Accolades
It was at the end of his career that honors accumulated. Following his recognitions from the King of France and the English Royal Society, Ferdinand Berthoud:
Was elected resident member of the first class in the mechanical arts section of the National Institute (1795);
Won the prize of the Institute of Sciences and Arts for his chronometers No. 27 and No. 32, with decimal time division;
Received the title of Horologist-Mechanic to the Navy (1802);
Received the title of Horologist of the Observatory and the Bureau des longitudes of Paris (1805);
Received from Napoleon the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor as a member of the Institute (1804).
Ferdinand Berthoud’s work holds a very special place in the history of horology, primarily through the marine chronometers he specialized in. But beyond his exceptional career, marked by so many recognitions before and after the French Revolution, Berthoud managed to immortalize the content of his research through extensive writing and publication, thereby inviting his successors to reproduce his constructions and draw inspiration from them in turn.
Bibliography:
L’Art de conduire et de régler les pendules et les montres à l’usage de ceux qui n’ont aucune connaissance d’horlogerie (1759)
Essai sur l’horlogerie (1763)
Traité des horloges marines (1773 – available in its entirety on this page)
Les longitudes par la mesure du temps (1775)
La mesure du temps ou supplément au Traité des horloges marines et à l’Essai sur l’horlogerie (1787)
Traité des montres à longitudes (1792)
État des horloges et des montres à longitudes construites et exécutées par Ferdinand Berthoud (1793)
Suite du Traité des montres à longitudes (1796)
Histoire de la mesure du temps par les horloges (1802)
Supplément au Traité des montres à longitudes (1807)
We have deliberately shortened some very long titles. All details of Ferdinand Berthoud’s bibliography can be found on his official website.
