Did you know about the world’s oldest clock existing before the tech straps?

As old as these clocks are showing the time, let us tell you that they also tell a story.

Before the small wall clocks, wrist watches, and digital clocks, there were human-sized clocks that told the time. Made with great mechanisms, mathematics, installations, and years of hard work, these vintage clocks have stood the test of time.

Mechanical Clock at Salisbury Cathedral

This clock at Salisbury Cathedral is possibly the world's oldest operational mechanical clock to date. The faceless clock, built in 1386, was a departure from the residents of Salisbury's seasonal use of sundials. For much of its survival, the clock chimed every hour, alerting all of Salisbury that it was time to attend church services. The mechanical clock was rediscovered in 1928, and a diligent restoration was carried out. Today, the clock in the cathedral's left nave is still ticking, but without the hourly chimes, as it did over 600 years ago.

The Wells Cathedral Clock

The Wells Cathedral Clock is an astronomical clock located in England Wells Cathedral's north transept. This same clock is among the few 14th-century institutions which have now survived to the present day. The original mechanism, established between 1386 and 1392, is enclosed in the Science Museum in London. In the 19th century, the clock framework was replaced. The interior clock's exorbitant face illustrates a geocentric perspective of the universe, with the sun, moon, and stars spinning around the Earth. The much more commonly chosen face appears on the less ornamented peripheral dial.

The GrClock-The The Gros-Horloge

The Gros-Horloge is a 14th-century astronomical clock and among France's most well-known clocks. The 1389 mechanism, fitted inside a Renaissance arch crossing the Rue du Gros-Horloge in Rouen, France, is also one of the country’s oldest. Jourdain del Leche started the construction of the Gros-Horloge, it was finished by the more skilled Jean de Felain, who would serve as the first governor of the clock.

The Orloj

The Orloj is among the most renowned old clocks in the world, and it is located in Prague's old town square. The Orloj, constructed in 1410, is one of the earliest mechanical clocks ever constructed, but it is also the oldest continuously operating clock. The Orloj is positioned on the southern wall of the old town hall and is an astronomical clock with a dial that depicts the movement of both the sun and moon as well as numerous astronomical details about the sky above. The mechanical clock and astronomical dial, the oldest components of the Orloj, were invented by clockmaker Mikulas of Kada as well as mathematics and astronomy professor Jan indel.