The most complete clock in the world, it is Portuguese!

It’s called Rijomax and it’s Portuguese, the most complete watch in the world. Father António Vieira said: “Every perfect watch not only gives hours, but also has an arm that points them”. There is a Portuguese watch that is known as the most complete on the planet: it is the Rijomax.

However, this perfect clock, contrary to what Father António Vieira advocated, is stopped. But that fact does not prevent it from being the most perfect of all watches. Even inactive (or precisely for that reason), Rijomax interferes with the imagination of us all.

When we look for your time in it, we willingly grant part of ours. Do you want to know more about this fantastic watch?

Rijomax is unique in the world, but it has not received the deserved recognition. It is a fascinating invention that has not had the publicity it deserves. The watch is the result of a demanding and meticulous work that is very revealing of the talent and ingenuity of its creator. His genius made him build an object so unusual that it will remain for posterity.

The work of art

The autarchy exhibits a true work of art at the Tourism Office at the county seat. Since 2002, Rijomax has enchanted locals and the curious. This remarkable work was made from recycled materials.

A testimony

Marco Penela, technician at the Municipality of Tabuaço, explained to TSF: “It is the most complete watch in the world. It was built by Mr. Amândio José Ribeiro, between 1945 and 1973, that is, it took 28 years to build ”.

The creator

Amândio José Ribeiro is the talented creator of Rijomax, a work that can be found in Tabuaço, inside the Interactive Tourism Store. The man, who only had the 4th grade, was a native of Pinhel, in the parish of Santa Eufémia, and had a lot of talent.

The inventor of this work of art showed great determination and resilience to build this watch. Amândio José Ribeiro considered it to be the “most complete watch in the world”.

What is certain is that this mysterious work took almost three decades to be completed. It was built between 1945 and 1973. It was over 16 thousand hours of work that its creator invested in the construction of the Rijomax (28 years old !!!). His work allowed him to acquire global fame, as he entered the Guinness Book of Records and has the patent with the number 12931.

Death
He was a watchmaker and goldsmith by profession for most of his life, even as a child he already played with watches. He devoted much of his existence and time into turning the Rijomax the most complete watch in the world and he succeeded.

In 2002, the watch was sold to the Municipality of Tabuaço, who was visionary and fair when considering that the watch should be part of the Heritage of the County.

Since Amândio’s death, no one else knew how to put Rijomax to work, after it stopped working. Amândio José Ribeiro was born in 1912, having lived 90 years.

The name RIJOMAX

The curious name “Rijomax” comes after an acronym that links the name of the watch’s creator to the work of art. The explanation is simpler than it may at first appear.

The Ri in RIJOMAX is by Ribeiro, while the Jo in RIJOMAX is by José; Ma in RIJOMAX is from Amândio. Finally, the X in RIJOMAX is to give the watch the common pronunciation of watch brands, such as Timex or Rolex.

Curiosities of Rijomax

The RIJOMAX weighs more than 150 kilos, measuring more than 2 meters. However, huge was the ambition that its creator had for the watch. This is due in addition of having more than 16 thousand digits and letters, the Rijomax is quite complete.

This watch is programmed not only to run for 10,000 centuries, in cycles of 6272 years (which did not happen), but it has many other functions. The clock indicates seconds, minutes, hours, but also the apparent movements of the sun and moon, universal time, lunar time.

This fantastic clock also marks the Equinoxes and Solstices, the phases of the moon, … The Rijomax even marks the sunrise and sunset and also marks the leap years. Inside it has written: “A Mysterious Work: The whole world inside a clock”.

PHOTOS OF TURISMO DO PORTO E NORTE DE PORTUGAL

This post was taken from an e-mail without any mention of its author. I do not own the rights to this photos.