First clock with fusee The origin of the fusee is unknown. Fusee-like mechanisms were being used as early as the 1400s in weapons, and the earliest known fusee clock appears to have been made around 1430. This clock is known as the 'Burgundy Clock'. It is also the first known spring-driven clock and was probably made for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Many credit maker Jacob Zech of Prague as being the first to incorporate a fusee into a clock, citing the astronomical clock that he made in 1525, which is on display at the British Museum (Museum number 1958,1006.2112). While Zech's astronomical clock is the earliest dated fusee clock, the technology was known and in play long before this. Further Reading White, L. Jr. 1966. Medieval Technology and Social Change. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 127-28. Dohrn-van Rossum, G. 1997. History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pg. 121. Image Credits Zech's clock. Society of Antiquaries of London (2005) Society of Antiquaries of London Catalogue of Drawings and Museum Objects [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000409 Drawing of a fusee. Fusee with cord. Thomas Minchin Goodeve, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
