Salomon Coster
Illustration — Original pendulum clock by S. Coster, after Huygens' design (1657). Salomon Coster (c. 1620–1659) was a Dutch clockmaker of the Hague, who in 1657 was the first to make a pendulum clock, which had been invented by Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695).
Also recorded as Salomon Hendricxsz Coster
Salomon Coster
Creator:Salomon Coster · Rijksmuseum · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1620 · Haarlem.
- Died
- 1659 · The Hague.
- Nationality
- Dutch Republic
- Occupation
- clockmaker · instrument maker · watchmaker
- Languages
- Dutch
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Original pendulum clock by S. Coster, after Huygens' design (1657). Salomon Coster (c. 1620–1659) was a Dutch clockmaker of the Hague, who in 1657 was the first to make a pendulum clock, which had been invented by Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695).
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wikidata · Q1384830 · wikipedia · Salomon Coster
In this article
Biography
Biography
Coster died a sudden death in 1659. Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum in December 1656 and Salomon Coster received the patent to create the clocks a year later. Coster's earliest pendulum clocks were signed "Samuel Coster - Haghe met privilege", indicating that he had been authorized by the inventor (Huygens) to make such clocks. This clock design was heralded as a new beginning in the clockmaking industry, due to its level of timekeeping accuracy which was previously unheard of. The oldest extant pendulum clock, signed by Coster in 1657, is on display at the Boerhaave Museum in Leiden, the Netherlands. Around the same time, John Fromanteel, the son of a London clockmaker named Ahasuerus, went to work for Coster. He was one of many foreign clockmakers to soon make pendulum clocks following the prototype by Huygens and Coster. A contract was signed on 3 September 1657 between Salomon Coster and John Fromanteel which allowed Fromanteel to continue making the clocks.
Pieter Visbagh is recorded as having studied under Salomon Coster. The recorded working language is Dutch. Places of work recorded in the authority are The Hague. Work by Salomon Coster is recorded in the collections of National Museum Paleis het Loo and Museum Boerhaave.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1620
Salomon Coster born at Haarlem.
1659
Salomon Coster died at The Hague.
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Haarlem.
Birth place
The Hague.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Salomon Coster the clockmaker of Christiaan Huygens. Clock. www.antique-horology.org.
- 2.Vincent, Authors: Clare. European Clocks in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Essay The Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
- 3.Early pendulum clock by Salomon Coster, c.1657. Science Museum Group Collection. collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk.
- 4.Hans van den Ende, et al.: "Huygens's Legacy, The Golden Age of the Pendulum Clock", Fromanteel Ltd., 2004,
- 5.Hans van den Ende, "Huygens's Legacy, The Golden Age of the Pendulum Clock", Fromanteel Ltd., 2004
- 6.Salomon Coster the clockmaker of Christiaan Huygens. Clock. www.antique-horology.org.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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