Historia y técnica del reloj de la catedral de Canarias: su significado en el contexto de la relojería española del siglo XVIII

The subject of interest of this article is the mechanical tower clock of the Cathedral of the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria), commissioned from the London firm Higgs and Evans in 1775. Although the main details of this device have already been made known by Canon Santiago Cazorla, new documents on its commissioning and installation are provided and its technical characteristics are described in detail. The overall evaluation of this mechanism is very important as it is a key piece in Spanish tower clockmaking. Its structure, with its recessed cage, has been the key to attributing a good number of English clocks that historiography had assigned to Spanish officials. The production of the Higgs and Evans watchmakers, active between 1775 and 1832, had as one of its main markets the Spanish crown territories located on the Spanish mainland, adjacent islands and the viceroyalties of America.