The names engraved on the arc of an antique sextant tell you everything about its quality, era, and value. Here are the makers whose instruments navigated the world.
The Golden Age of Instrument Making
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were the golden age of navigational instrument making. London was the epicenter, a city whose economic survival depended on maritime trade, whose navy ruled the oceans, and whose instrument makers competed fiercely to produce the most accurate, durable, and elegant tools for celestial navigation.
The names that emerged from this era — Spencer Browning, Cary, Troughton, Ramsden, Norie, Hughes — are to navigational instruments what Stradivarius is to violins. Their work represented the absolute pinnacle of precision manufacturing in their time, and their instruments remain among the most sought-after objects in the antique scientific instrument market.
Spencer Browning & Co.
Spencer, Browning & Co. (also known as Spencer Browning & Rust in its earlier years) was one of the most prolific and respected sextant makers in London. Operating from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, the firm produced instruments of consistently high quality that were widely used by the Royal Navy and the merchant marine.
Their sextants are recognized for exceptional craftsmanship, clear engraving, and reliable optics. Double-frame brass sextants by Spencer Browning are among the most collectible instruments in the field, combining structural elegance with the mechanical precision that working navigators demanded.
Land and Sea Collection has handled numerous Spencer Browning instruments over the years, including rare double-frame quintets and presentation pieces.
Cary of London
The Cary family was a prominent instrument-making family in London from the late eighteenth century. They produced sextants, octants, globes, and telescopes of the highest quality. Cary instruments are notable for their refined engraving and the elegance of their overall design.
A miniature pocket sextant by Cary of London is one of the most charming objects in the entire field of antique scientific instruments, a precision navigational tool small enough to fit in a coat pocket, yet capable of delivering accurate celestial observations. Full-size Cary sextants with ebony frames and ivory arcs are exceptionally rare and command prices reflecting their scarcity and beauty.
Troughton & Simms
Edward Troughton was arguably the finest instrument maker of his generation. His sextants, made in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, are masterworks of precision engineering. After his partnership with William Simms, the firm of Troughton & Simms continued to produce instruments of the highest caliber.
Troughton sextants are the instruments that serious collectors dream about. A documented Troughton, particularly an early brass double-frame example, is a museum-quality piece. The engraving is distinctive, the construction is flawless, and the precision of the graduated arc is extraordinary even by modern standards.
Jesse Ramsden
Ramsden was a pioneer who invented the dividing engine, the machine that enabled the graduation of arcs with unprecedented accuracy. His instruments, made in the second half of the eighteenth century, are among the rarest and most valuable of all antique navigational tools. A Ramsden octant or sextant is a trophy piece for any collection.
Ramsden’s influence extended far beyond his own workshop. His dividing engine technology was adopted by makers across Britain and Europe, fundamentally improving the accuracy of every sextant produced thereafter.
Henry Hughes & Son
Henry Hughes & Son of London produced navigational instruments for the Admiralty and merchant marine throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their sextants are well-made, reliable instruments that represent excellent value for collectors who want a quality maker without the premium commanded by Troughton or Ramsden.
Hughes instruments are often found in very good condition, having been carefully maintained by professional navigators. Their late-nineteenth-century brass double-frame sextants are particularly attractive.
Other Names Worth Knowing
Norie of London produced sextants alongside their famous nautical almanacs and navigation tables. Janet Taylor, one of the very few women in the field, made instruments in London in the mid-nineteenth century; her work is rare and historically significant. Heath & Co. produced instruments of excellent quality. In America, C. Taber of New Bedford, Keuffel & Esser, and Berge of London (successor to Ramsden) all produced notable instruments.
The depth of maker history in this field is one of its great pleasures. Every instrument carries a story of the maker who crafted it, the navigator who used it, and the voyages it made possible.
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Looking for a sextant from a specific maker? Contact Land and Sea Collection at 772-287-7022. We specialize in the finest examples.
Land and Sea Collection — trusted by collectors, museums, and military families since 2003. Palm City, Florida.