The lure of antique timepieces lies in their combination of art and technology. Visual clues can help you to date a clock and identify its mechanics.

Mechanical timepieces were first made in Europe in 13th-century monasteries to call the monks to prayer. By 1380 many cities had public clocks, although domestic clocks did not appear until the late 15th century. Portable clocks became feasible when the coiled spring was devised as a source of power in the early 16th century. The first true watches date from about 1580 but were rather inaccurate before the invention of the balance wheel around 1675. Clocks are judged on the quality of both movement and case. Rarity alone does not necessarily mean high value, but a pioneering design is desirable. Points to consider include the type of movement and its complexity (for example, if it has a striking system), style of dial and case, the maker and condition.

Wooden cases were not widely used until the introduction of the pendulum in 1658-6o. French cases closely followed contemporary furniture styles, but in London they lagged by some 25-30 years (and in the provinces by even more) until the rise in influence of the great designer-furnishers such as Thomas Chippendale in the mid- 18th century.

Antique Collector Magazine

The movement

A clock or watch movement is composed of a ‘train‘ of gearwheels and pinions for each function (see p.522) — for example, the motion of the hands (the ‘going’ train), hour strike (`striking‘ train), quarter-hour strike, alarm, musical tunes and so on. The trains with their arbors (spindles) have to be held in a frame. The earliest type was the posted- frame or ‘birdcage’ movement. It was used for 3o-hour clocks well into the 19th century, but otherwise fell out of use after 166o.

The plated movement was first developed for portable clocks in the 16th century and went on to become the most common type. Most longcase (`grandfather’), bracket and mantel clocks were made this way — as were most early watches. From the mid- 18th century, some watches—especially on the Continent—were made with an individual cock (thin metal bar) to hold each wheel, rather than a solid top (back) plate. This allowed for a much slimmer mechanism.

Drives, Escapements and Strikes

Before the age of electricity, virtually all clocks were driven by either weights or coiled springs. Weight-driven clocks were designed to be set up and left in one place. Spring- driven timepieces could be moved.

An unchecked weight falls ever faster, while a coiled spring loses power as it unwinds. The escapement is the device that allows the power of the driving force to ‘escape’ at regular intervals. Before the introduction of the pendulum and the balance wheel — both of which have a steady rate of oscillation—escapements were rather hit-and-miss and most clocks were unreliable.

British spring-driven clocks of the 16th to late 19th centuries incorporated a device to compensate for the spring’s decreasing force as it unwound, the fusee. This was a hallmark of the superiority of British clock-making. In German clocks, the fusee was used in the going train, but only until the early 18th century, while in France it was used in both going and striking trains only in the 16th and early 17th centuries. After that, the spring barrel engaged directly with the train.

Electricity was used to drive clocks from the late 19th century. Except for pioneer pieces, electric clocks are rarely collected for their mechanical qualities, but Art Deco electric clocks are in demand for their stylishness.

The number of winding holes immediately indicates a clock’s complexity. A single hole generally suggests that it is a timepiece with no strike, two that it is hour (or, if French, half-hour) striking, a third that there is either a quarter-strike or a chime or musical tune every three hours, and a fourth that it plays music as well as striking the quarter-hours. Clocks with ‘Westminster’ chimes never predate 1856-7, when the Westminster clock tower incorporating ‘Big Ben’ was built.

The dial

Dutch and French dials after 1660 were covered with velvet, with the chapter (hour) ring, spandrels (ornamental corner pieces) and signature plaque mounted on top. French clocks of 1700-40 often have a multi-part enamel dial — a style revived in the 20th century. From about 1725 all French dialswere circular, and from 1740 most were of plain enamel — slightly convex at first, but flatter with thinner enamel from 1800. Many i9th-century French mantel and carriage clocks have a porcelain or opaque glass dial.

British clock dials from 1660 were generally square, or with an arched top from 1720. Longcase clock dials were made progressively larger in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Most London brass dials had an applied chapter ring and spandrels, but some were flat brass, engraved and silvered. Painted dials were first advertised in Birmingham in 1772, and became common in the 1780s.

Once seen as a cheap alternative to London enamelled dials, they are now believed to have been popular decorative features. They were also used in some high-grade London- made Regency and early Victorian clocks.

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