Any mention of the Olympic spirit, and three words immediately spring to mind: "faster, higher, stronger." However, as "faster" suggests, speed supposes the measurement of time. The watches, clocks and other timekeepers that provide these measurements not only embody the athlete's competitive spirit; they epitomize the intelligence needed to make them.

When recounting the history of navigational instruments, what first comes to mind is the astrolabe, which measures latitude, and the marine chronometer, essential for calculating longitude. However, the enigmatic nocturnal is often forgotten, even though this instrument proved itself to be indispensable to the great navigators.

Officially inaugurated on May 22nd this year, the German Watch Museum Glashütte has opened to the public in the building of the former German School of Watchmaking. True to its slogan, "The fascination of time – Bringing time to life," the Museum will not only illustrate the art of watchmaking through its extensive collection, it will also pay tribute to the town of Glashütte, its citizens and their history.

Pilots never take off without a watch in the cockpit. In the air as at sea, time is an essential factor when plotting a position and, alongside cockpit instruments, brands have developed wristwatches with useful functions when in flight. The flyback chronograph and slide rule are two inventions in which the measurement of time and aeronautics combine.

If the precision of a mechanical chronometer cannot rival that of its quartz counterpart, this has not stopped watchmakers from continuously making improvements in precision.