Nuremberg eggs

A Nuremberg egg (German: Nürnberger Ei) is a type of small ornamental spring-driven clock made to be worn around the neck, produced in Nuremberg in the mid-to-late 16th century.

Their production was made possible by the miniaturisation of the torsion pendulum and coil spring mechanism by Nuremberg clockmaker Peter Henlein (d. 1542) at the beginning of the 16th century (c.

This form of the name may have played a part in inspiring the oval shape becoming popular in the 1580s.

[3][1] It is known that Henlein first succeeded in producing a portable clock in 1510, and his contributions were clearly instrumental in giving rise to the later Nuremberg "neck-watch" industry.

He is recorded to have sold a "gilded Pomander for all purposes with a clock-mechanism" (vergulten pysn Apffel für all Ding mit einem Oraiologium, i.e. a clock built into a precious perfume-box) for 15 gulden to the city on 11 January 1524.

A Nuremberg egg watch of the late 16th century
The oldest Nuremberg "clock-watch" preserved dates to c. 1550, after Henlein's death. Kept in Germanisches Nationalmuseum , this is the so-called "Henlein-Uhr", and its association with Henlein's workshop, and even its authenticity, has long been controversial. [ citation needed ]
The 1505 pomander watch