[3] From an early age, the younger Vulliamy showed interest in pursuing his father's career.

As an adult, he began to earn a reputation as a builder of mantel clocks, decorative timepieces that adorned the halls of high society.

The king, an enthusiast for watches and mechanical devices, was patron of Justin Vulliamy, but Benjamin was the only one of the pair to receive this significant honour.

[3] Around 1780, Vulliamy was commissioned to build the Regulator Clock, the main timekeeper of the King's Observatory Kew, which served as an unofficial Prime Meridian.

It also kept official London time until 1884, when the Greenwich Royal Observatory assumed both roles.

A Vulliamy clock was presented to the Chinese emperor by the diplomatic mission of George Macartney to Beijing in 1793.