Clocks and Watches

Where would we be without our clocks and watches? We'll explore the inner-workings of timepieces as well as look at some specifics, such as smart watches, Indiglo, digital watches and pendulum clocks.

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The Rolex name is synonymous with luxury and cool. But how did this watch company become one of the most famous brands in the world?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

It's a Kickstarter darling, but how does the Pebble differentiate itself from the pack of smart watches on the market?

By Nathan Chandler

Portable timepieces have existed since the mid-1500s; however, the wristwatch (as we know it) has only been around for a little more than a century. Learn the many ways that watches have evolved.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

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Wristwatches are starting to go the way of the VHS tape, but sales revenue has actually gone up in recent years, thanks to meticulously crafted -- and ridiculously expensive-- timepieces like the C1 QuantumGravity watch.

By Ed Grabianowski

Sure, we're all obsessed with our phones, but does everyone think that strapping a timepiece to the wrist is redundant?

By Nicholas Gerbis

When you start talking about potentially shooting particles around faster than the speed of light, it's natural for people to wonder how on earth you can time such tests. So what does CERN do to make sure their instruments all have the same time?

By Wesley Fenlon

You may have heard about quartz and liquid crystal in reference to wristwatches, but do you know how the two materials make the time tick by?

By Jeff Harder

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Mystery clocks represent that enigmatic intersection between horology and magic. What makes their floating hands move and keep time so well?

By Linda C. Brinson

It's sort of like an MP3 player, only it's way more interested in tracking your vitals than in playing the latest Adele track. Ready to meet a device that could change the face of technology, according to the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show?

By William Harris

A wristwatch is an essential part of your wardrobe, but have you ever stopped to wonder why? As it turns out, the timepiece you've strapped to your wrist has a very long and storied history.

By Linda C. Brinson

These exquisitely crafted instruments have hundreds of uses. Isn't it time you learned how to use this handy decoder of the sky?

By William Harris

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Do you check your horoscope compulsively, or snort derisively at the very thought? Before you dismiss astrology as nonsense, consider this: It has a long history with timekeeping. We're happy to tell you all about it.

By William Harris

Dive watches don't just tell time; they can save your life. When you're counting on a limited air supply in the depths of the ocean, you'll want to know when it's time to head for the surface.

By Patrick J. Kiger

No, this clock won't blow up the planet. But it does use cesium and lasers to keep time so accurately that we had to change the definition of “second.” What else?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Cell phones may be the modern pocket watch, but oscillating mechanism wristwatches are still evolving. So exactly how precise is the Precisionist?

By Matt Cunningham

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The most expensive wrist watch in the world is embellished with 1,282 diamonds and costs $5 million. But can it really tell time better than a Timex?

By Patrick J. Kiger

What if there were no time zones, and every clock everywhere in the world read the same time? Swatch tried to float this idea in 1999. Why didn't it catch on?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Sometimes your watch is a little slow -- or at least that's what your friends insist. But down deep you wonder: Whose timepiece is really correct -- yours or theirs? And furthermore, just how accurate can anyone expect his watch to be?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Your wrist device links to a net of synchronized computers orbiting Earth to provide you with highly accurate data: It's not sci-fi; it's a GPS watch.

By Matt Cunningham

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Some people feel you should live for today. Others believe you should think about your part in the seeming never-endingness of time. But how do you measure that?

By Josh Briggs

These amazing timepiece pictures explore unusual and exotic time gadgets. Learn more and explore timepiece pictures.

The ability to tell time has been around for centuries. What began as a fairly simple practice has evolved into a complex system of time, daylight savings and leap years. But where did it all start, and what was the role of sundials?

By Jessika Toothman

The trend in technology is to get more and more "connectivity" into smaller and smaller packages. Find out how it's possible to access news, weather, sports, stocks, horoscopes, e-mail and more from a wristwatch.

By Robert Valdes & Nathan Chandler

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Clocks come in many different forms, from quartz watches to atomic clocks. Take a peek inside and learn what makes each kind tick.

By Marshall Brain

Many radio-controlled clocks automatically sync their time with the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. How do they do it?