Fascinating Facts

ORPAT’S ROOTS: MORBI

Morbi is a cityand a municipality located in the western part of India, in the state of Gujarat. Gujarat is considered to be one of the most prosperous states in India today, thanks to the immense contribution by the business-class people. Talking purely from industrial point of view, 70 per cent of India’s and 12% of the world’s output of ceramic items are produced in Morbi.It also constitutes around 80 per cent of the country’s Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) production and is the largest producer of wall clocks in India.
According to records and statistics, three out of ten wall clocks manufactured in India are from Morbi.

The city is a home to one of the largest clock manufacturers ORPAT Group. Morbi is developing as a high-end industrial hub of Gujarat and manufacturing products that match international quality standards. The city is 247 Km away from Ahmedabad. National Highway no 8/A is flanked by the industrial estate of Morbi. A large number of small-scale manufacturing units are located in this Industrial Estate.

HISTORY OF CLOCKS

The history of clocks is vast and dates back to centuries with an evolution of a variety of clocks. Not all historians agree on the history of the clock. The word clock was first used in the 14th century (about 700 years ago). It comes from the word for bell in Latin (“clocca”).
Usage of Sun
The very first method that people used to know the time was by looking at the sun as it moves across the skyline. When the sun was directly overhead in the sky, people considered it as the middle of the day. When the sun was near to the horizon, it was either early morning known as sunrise or evening known as sunset. Presuming time was not very accurate during these days.

Sundial Clocks
The oldest type of clock is a sundial clock, well known as sun clocks. They were first used around 3,500 B.C. (about 5,500 years ago). Sundials use the sun to tell the time. The shadow of the sun points to a number on a circular disk that shows you the time. As sundials depend on the sun, these clocks had a very limited use during day time and during sunny days of the year.

Water Clocks
Around 1400 B.C. (about 3,400 years ago), water clocks were invented in Egypt. The name for a water clock is clepsydra (pronounced KLEP-suh-druh). Water clocks were famous in Greece, where they were further improved many times over the period of time. Water clocks could perform better than sundials as people could easily use it during night and all thought the year.

Pendulum Clocks
The pendulum swings left and right, and as it swings, it turns a wheel with teeth. The turning wheel turns the hour and minute hands on the clock. At first pendulum clocks, the pendulum used to have a wide angle. As it improved with time, it underwent many changes and the angle of pendulum was narrowed.
The first pendulum clock with external batteries was developed around 1840. By 1906, the batteries were inside the clock.

ABOUT ANTIQUE CLOCKS

It is by and large accepted that the first British domestic clocks were what we now call Lantern clocks. Lantern is thought to come from the word ‘Latten’, a past name for brass or possibly from the clock’s resemblance to a lantern.
These clocks were manufactured mostly by brass and some iron components added in it. They were wall clocks, weight driven and striking hours on a large overhead bell and usually about 16″ high. Commercial manufacturing started in early 1600’s.Inventions and Innovations gave several better models of clocks over the period of time with better accuracy, ease of handling and designs.However, the antique clock designs are very rare and unique which are seldom seen.

WHAT IS QUARTZ?

Quartz is a hard crystalline mineral found in abundanceacross the globe in a variety of forms. It is the most common mineral on earth, making up 12% of the earth’s crust by volume, and is used in a wide variety of applications including jewellery, scientific research, manufacturing, and building. Owing to its varied uses, quartz is also an important mineral. Moreover, some rare varieties of quartz are considered to be quite valuable. It can also be quite beautiful, especially when cut and polished by a jeweller who understand the properties of quartz well. It is often used as a cheaper substitute for fancier gems, and when handled well, it can be difficult to distinguish from other expensive counterparts.A quartz clock is a clock that uses an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than good mechanical clocks. Generally, some form of digital logic counts the cycles of this signal and provides a numeric time display, usually in units of hours, minutes, and seconds. Since the 1970s, they have become the most widely used timekeeping technology.

10:10 IN EACH CLOCK

If you’ve ever been curious or paid a little attention to the standard time at which most clocks are set you would have been forced to know the reason behind this bizarre norm. Observations show that in any advert the clock shows the time 10:10. There is no specific or scientific theory behind this. However, people till date have come up with many different possible reasons for the same. Below are some popular reasons for the time 10:10:Symmetrical Look: When the watch is at 10:10 we get a vertical symmetry in the face of the clock.

Smiley Look: When we look at a watch at 10:10, we see as if the watch is smiling. It is better to have a smiling face, rather than having a crying face when the time is at 8:20.

Visibility: When the hands are at 10:10, we have the makers name and other details clearly visible when they are placed at above or below the centre.

Victory: When the clock is at 10:10, the hands are similar to the letter “v” which symbolises victory.

First Watch: The first watch is made/completed at this time.

Abraham Lincoln: Many say that Abraham Lincoln died at 10:10p.m. and hence the watches show the time he breathed his last. However, according to research, Lincoln was shot at night around 10:15 p.m., and died the following morning around 7:22 a.m. We shall never find out what the truth behind this phenomenon is, history always remains a mystery!

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Attack: It is said that the first atomic bomb was dropped at 10:10 and in remembrance of all the victims, all unused clocks or the clocks which are presented in show-cases have the same time.

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