[2] After the Spanish-South American War, colonel and inventor Pedro Ruiz Gallo was able to dedicate himself entirely to the ambitious project of building a great clock for the Peruvian capital, which he achieved under the patronage of then-President José Balta, who appointed him attached to the General Staff and financed his work.

[7] It remained at the Palace of the Exhibition, which served as its location for ten years, until the War of the Pacific led to the occupation of Lima in 1881.

One of the theories about the fate of the watch suggests that after being disassembled it was taken as war booty by order of Patricio Lynch, however once in Chile it could not be put into operation.

[5] According to Jorge Basadre, its inventor removed essential parts of the mechanism to render it useless so that the enemy could not rebuild it once it was transferred to Santiago de Chile.

[6][2] Another theory suggests that the clock was not transferred to Chile, but that its machinery was destroyed by the victorious army and its structure used as a home for the officers of the troops stationed in the Parque de la Exposición.