Dent (clocks and watches) Dent (clocks and watches) Dent was a London manufacturer of luxury clocks and watches, founded by Edward John Dent. Dent began making watches in 1814, although it wasn’t until 1876 that the Dent triangular trade mark was registered. Perhaps the company’s biggest coup is winning the contract to make the clock for the new palace of Westminster – or Big Ben as it’s more commonly known. Edward John Dent (1790-1853) discovered his passion for horology from his cousin, Richard Rippon, himself a master watchmaker. Dent established his own company in 1814, and developed a reputation as a builder of accurate
Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation parts of China only clocks and large bells, and not watches, are called ""zhong"", and watches are commonly given as gifts in China. However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the ("give") expression of the phrase. It is undesirable to give someone a fan or an umbrella as a gift. The words fan "shàn" () and umbrella "sǎn" () sound like the word "sǎn/sàn" (), meaning to scatter, or to part company, to separate, to break