| Two-Day Marine Timekeeper John Arnold, London, England, ca 1772 Paul Mellon Chamberlain Collection NA 91 |

Although John Harrison is credited with creating the initial marine timekeeper, it is watchmaker John Arnold who perfected and simplified the design and proving beyond a doubt that an accurate timekeeper could be made for use at sea. In 1772, Arnold created a series of timekeepers for use by James Cook during his second voyage to the South Seas. This extremely important Arnold timepiece dates to the same time period and may in fact be one of the instruments used during Cook's voyage.
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