Collecting antiques is a common hobby of many enthusiasts. Combine the love for collecting antiques with the fascination for science and you’ll understand that collecting antique scientific instruments is the favourite pastime for a passionate group of people. The great thing about scientific instruments is the history and stories behind every instrument.
The field of scientific instruments is quite vast, from instruments used for research (such as a microscope or antique telescope) to antique surgical instruments that were used in the operating theatre. Whichever instruments sparks your interest, every single item has a story to tell. Below we’ll have an overview of some of the antique scientific instruments that we have or have had in stock. If you are looking for a particular kind of instrument and you can’t find it in our online shop, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We may have not uploaded it to our website or we can help you find the item that you are looking for.
Antique Microscopes
The basic principles of how an optical microscope works have not changed much. Antique microscopes are a natural extension of the magnifying glass and they were first perfected by Galileo. Many great discoveries in the last few centuries were made by microscopes having one of these would be interesting.
Antique Telescopes
The refractor telescope has been used for many purposes from seeing great distances at sea to astronomy. Galileo is the first person known to have looked at the sky using a telescope. Many discoveries both on Earth and in space were made with an antique telescope. Owning a piece of this history would be interesting.
Antique Compass
Compasses are used to find magnetic north. Because a compass needle always points north because of the Earth’s magnetic field it has been used in navigation for centuries. Many great discoveries have been made with their help making it an interesting piece of history to own. View our antique pocket compass collection.
Antique Medical Instruments
There are numerous types of antique medical instruments. These can be interesting because while some of them parallel instruments that are used today some of them are clearly outdated. Owning some of these instruments would be interesting, particularly the outdated ones.
Antique Orrery
An orrery is a model of the solar system is designed to show and calculate the relative position of the planets in the Solar System. They are actually a form of an early mechanical computer making an excellent collector’s item.
Antique Hourglass
Hourglasses are simple time-keeping devices where sand flows from one side to the other by gravity at a constant rate. These are among the earliest man-made timekeeping devices and possibly the first that did not rely upon the Sun. Antique hourglasses are an excellent collector’s item.
Antique Radiometer
A radiometer consists of dark and light paddle-like surfaces inside a glass bulb with a vacuum inside. This allows the absorption and emission of light to cause the paddles to rotate. Today they are toys but they were originally designed to measure light and other forms of radiation. An antique radiometer can be shown off as it rotates just by the light in the room.
Antique Barometers
Antique barometers come in many shapes and sizes, their purpose is to measure air pressure. Antique barometers are often quite decorative as well as functional. As a result, they make excellent showpieces for the collector.
Antique Chronometers
Antique chronometers are high-precision timepieces which for their time were amazingly accurate. They were often designed for use at sea and in labs. For the Collector they make an excellent showpiece particularly if they still work.
Antique scientific instruments are amazing things to look at because they were often made with not just functionality but a touch of beauty as well. Dutch Time Pieces is the starting place to start with or expand your collection of antique scientific instruments. For both the collector and someone who is just interested in the history of science you will find many interesting antique scientific instruments in our shop.