English wooden clock The Chatsworth

Luxury design from England combined with the highest quality materials creates the Comitti manufactory.

A sip of splendid history

In 1845, the Italian producer of precision instruments, Onorato Comitti, travelled to England in search of a new future in a country enjoying the unprecedented prosperity of the industrial revolution, and in 1850 he opened his workshops with other specialists in Clerkenwell, London. Dedicated to the pursuit of perfection and innovation, he quickly achieved an unrivalled reputation for his recording instruments, including the highest quality mercury and aneroid barometers. In the late Victorian period, the company gained fame as one of the best clockmakers in England, receiving an Honorary Diploma for the company's performance in 1888. Over 150 years later, Comitti is still a family brand, run by the fifth generation, remaining true to the principles of Onorato Comitti and continuing to maintain the company's international reputation in the field of luxury clocks in the finest traditions of English clockmaking.

Original Comitti barometers and clocks from those early days are now sought-after and valuable antiques. Interestingly, some Comitti styles created in the late 19th century are still produced, using many of the same techniques and attracting the same wonder as always. Such heritage allows the company to offer bespoke maintenance and restoration services for all antique clocks and barometers. It was the architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries that inspired the greatest English furniture designers, Thomas Sheraton, George Hepplewhite, and Thomas Chippendale. Clockmakers were influenced by the fashion for the highest quality cabinetry created by these craftsmen.

The Georgian style and skills of master craftsmen, such as veneer cutters and marquetry makers, were utilised using exotic woods sourced from around the world to create and adorn the visible areas of the finest clock cabinets. The long clock cabinets produced by Comitti today reflect all the skills and traditions of a bygone era. The highest quality seasoned solid hardwood and exquisite veneers have been selected for their natural beauty. Veneers are cut and joined, inlaid with marquetry, and laid by hand, making each piece unique.

French polishing processes are used to enhance the natural beauty of the cabinet. The pores of the wooden surfaces are filled and sanded using fine papers to create a base before applying lacquers. Finally, the surface is drawn out and rubbed with beeswax to achieve a rich natural patina. The longcase clock produced by Comitti is a work of art, a heritage piece that will be treasured by future generations.

Products made using marquetry

Marquetry is an art form that can be traced back to early Egyptian and Assyrian craftsmen and is essentially decoration achieved by creating patterns or pictures from veneers of wood or other materials. The zenith of marquetry occurred at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries when the craft achieved the status of high art through royal patronage in France.

The arrival of William of Orange with his wife Mary and their court in 1689 sparked a fashion for this highly decorative craft in England. This had a direct impact on furniture designers, and particularly on longcase clock cabinets. For the first time, home furnishings became aspirational, driven by fashion and the highest standards of design inspired by technical education and classical architecture. Comitti craftsmen continue to produce marquetry to these high standards using traditional techniques and noble and rare woods. The time taken to create these intricate panels is measured in days, and each piece is unique.

What does the invention of navigation have in common with Comitti clocks?

In the early 18th century, the greatest challenge faced by navigators was calculating longitude, and thus determining their true position in the vastness of the oceans. Countless lives were lost as ships were wrecked on unknown waters, prompting the British Parliament to offer a reward of £20,000, equivalent to £2,770,000 in modern currency, for a solution. There were two schools of thought on solving this problem: astronomers, who believed the true longitudinal position could be calculated using the stars, and horologists, who understood that an extremely accurate clock would enable the calculation of the true east-west position or longitude.

For many years, John Harrison, a self-taught English clockmaker, invented the marine chronometer, the most accurate timekeeper ever created, which crucially maintained accurate time aboard a ship in extreme temperatures and humidity. The Comitti Navigator is a tribute to the skill, ingenuity, and perseverance of one man who changed the course of history.