To put away any initial confusion – Leonardo da Vinci did not invent the clock. What he did was design a more accurate clock.

While clocks that showed hours and minutes had become increasingly accurate in da Vinci’s time (the 15th century), they didn’t really make a big leap forward until the incorporation of the pendulum about 200 years later. But, da Vinci actually designed a more accurate clock in his lifetime.

Leonardo’s clock had two separate mechanisms: one for minutes and one for hours. Each was made up of elaborately connected weights, gears and harnesses. The clock also has a dial for keeping track of moon phases.

Da Vinci’s major innovation was to have springs, rather than weights operate his clock. He also included the detail of some materials that would be used to make the clock – including diamonds and rocks.

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