Collectible Clocks & Timepieces | Collectibles & Collectors Items

British ships were subjected to difficulties in determining their position, and hence accurate timekeeping became particularly important. As a result, British timekeeping became famous all over the world. Extremely accurate time keeping made it possible for a ship to find its exact position at sea, and the government offered substantial rewards for this objective. Harrison, Mudge and Arnold were the three most famous manufacturers, and their painstaking labours did much to ensure the worldwide fame of British clock making (and the supremacy of British shipping.)

Early Clocks
The earliest clocks were made by blacksmiths. They consisted of heavy iron frames, showing few signs of the precision associated with the work of a true clockmaker. With the introduction of the portable clock, came the extensive use of brass, and the accuracy and efficiency of such mechanisms. By the middle of the eighteenth century, few households were without a clock. This was usually a long case, or "grandfather." The demand for these grew so great that the trade became divided into a number of dedicated areas, each of which making one or more parts. A country clockmaker ordered his requirements, assembled them and added his name on the face. Most surviving clocks made in country villages were put together in this manner. The first clock cases were of gilt metal or brass, and the familiar type, known as the "lantern" clock, is a typical example. Wooden cases were introduced in the seventeenth century, mostly of oak, veneered with ebony. Later examples include walnut and other woods. Inlays of floral marquetry and later, of satinwood and ebony stringing, followed the prevailing fashions.

Collecting
The condition of the movement is of greater interest to the collector than that of the case. Continual use over centuries will have caused wear and necessitated replacement of parts. Ensure that any replacement / restoration work is done by a qualified craftsman, otherwise it very expensive to correct. On close examination, an apparently high quality clock will sometimes reveal that the entire striking mechanism has been removed. Similarly, an old escapement may have been substituted for a one that is more modern and reliable. Furthermore, movements may have been adapted to fit cases, and cases to movements. Any long case clock of small size, known as a "grandmother," should be treated with caution. Old examples do exist, but are very rare, mostly manufactured by dishonest forgers. In France, clocks were placed in large and ornamental cases, sometimes with matching wall-brackets, covered in tortoiseshell, inlaid with brass. This fashion lasted from the late seventeenth century, through the eighteenth century and beyond. In the early 1700s, cases began to be veneered with rarer woods, mounted in ormolu and in styles matching concurrent furniture. Clocks were given cases of ormolu and bronze, sometimes set with Dresden, and other china groups. Genuine specimens are rare and expensive, whilst reproductions are widespread.

Clocks - Miscellaneous
1. Clocks were originally made to be placed prominently in outdoor positions for people at large. In due course, smaller examples were made for use in the home, and eventually, a further reduction in size led to the personal pocket-watch.

2. The earliest clocks with movements driven by the power of a falling weight had neither hands nor dial, and marked the hours by striking a bell. Eventually, there was the addition of a face showing the hours. Later, the hours were divided into minutes, with an accompanying minute hand. These clocks were iron-framed, usually placed high inside a tower, giving the weight a good distance to travel before rewinding was necessary.

3. Regulation, to prevent the weight crashing down from top to bottom of the tower, was achieved by a device known as a "Foliot balance." The final wheel in the train was set on a horizontal spindle. The wheel, called the "crown" wheel, because of its appearance, was cut with long angled teeth into which fitted alternately two flat pallets on an upright spindle. At the top of this latter spindle, a shaped arm with adjustable weights regulated the speed of the clock. For smaller clocks, a wheel replaced the swinging arm, and adjusting the weight controlled the speed.

4. In the early sixteenth century, the first clocks appeared using a coiled spring. The fact that the power exerted by a spring grows less as it uncoils was the subject of much research. As the spring uncoils, it reaches a larger circumference equalising the weakened pull. The use of springs encouraged the making of portable clocks and these, first made in Germany, soon became popular. Their time keeping, like that of all other clocks of the period, was erratic, and the sundial remained an essential standby.

5. The Italian astronomer, Galileo, discovered the important property of the pendulum, but its application to clock making was due to a Dutchman, Christiaan Huygens. By 1658, Johannes Fromanteel, a Dutch clockmaker who lived and worked in London, was advertising that he had for sale, "Clocks that go exact and keep equaller time than any now made without this Regulator." This was true, but throughout the eighteenth century, improvements of one kind or another led to greater precision and reliability. The names of Tompion, Graham, Quare, and many others achieved a hard-earned fame, and examples of their craft are eagerly sought.