Paul Ditisheim (b.1865) received numerous awards for his high precision chocks and watches. He designed this chronometer around 1921, combining features of several earlier instruments. The second-hand is placed in the center of the instrument for easier reading as in Harrison's designs. The lever escapement is in one piece and detachable, which facilitates testing the accuracy of the instrument, as in John Gottlieb Ulrich's instruments. The dial follows the design of John Paul Cole. Although this chronometer was produced at a time when such instruments were not in high demand and the Greenwich Trials had been postponed, it was noted for its complexity, accuracy, and combination of features. The U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1956.Ref: Rupert T. Gould,The Marine Chronometer: Its History and Developments (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1989), p. 343-345.
