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Slave Clock - 'Inducta', Landis & Gyr, 1950s — view 1 of 2
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Instruments · Slave clock

Slave Clock - 'Inducta', Landis & Gyr, 1950s

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
1950s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Slave clock
Holding institution
Museums Victoria, Melbourne
Accession / object no.
ST 32909
Catalogue title (original)
Slave Clock - 'Inducta', Landis & Gyr, 1950s (English)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Museums Victoria, Melbourne (object number ST 32909), this is a slave clock, dated 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Instruments collection. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Summary — Museums Victoria

Electric slave clock, 'Inducta', made by Landis & Gyr Zug, Switzerland, 1950s.

Physical description — Museums Victoria

Round metal case, chrome plated. Electric movement controlled by a minute pulse from master clock.

Inscriptions & marks

Dial marked 'Inducta'.

Provenance

Unknown Acquisition Method from Unknown Source - Likely Donation

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

Electronic instruments, quartz frequency standards and the first atomic clocks transformed precision timing in laboratories and broadcasting.

Read the period in the timelineMore instruments from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

Atlas type guide

Scientific and navigational instruments

Timekeeping has always been tied to astronomy, navigation and measurement. Observatories used transit instruments to determine the exact moment a star crossed the meridian, and set their regulators by it; navigators combined sextant observations with chronometers to find longitude; surveyors, engineers and physicians used counters, pedometers and timers derived from watch and clock technology.

Instruments in this collection show how time measurement supported science and everyday technical life. Their makers were often the same workshops that produced clocks and watches, and their scales and dials document changing units and standards.

What to look for

  • Engraved scales and verniers; the units used (degrees, hours, decimal divisions).
  • Makers' signatures and town names, often on the main plate or limb.
  • Accessories and fitted cases that indicate the intended use.
  • Inventory or institutional marks from observatories, navies or schools.

Dating clues

  • Vernier scales spread after the seventeenth century; dividing engines after Ramsden (1770s) made fine scales common.
  • Mass-produced instruments with patent numbers belong mostly to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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