Clocks · Clock
1930s J.L. Rutter Atmos clock
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1930s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Clock
- Dimensions
- Height 9.25 in (23 cm)
- Auction house
- Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
- Lot
- Sale 11, lot 1353
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 1353, Fine Clocks at 1pm, Gardiner Houlgate (24th February 2022)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Very rare 1930s J.L. Rutter Atmos clock, the 4.75" gilt chapter ring with Arabic numerals enclosing a skeletonised centre and inscribed no. 2922 on the front plate of the movement, also inscribed Brev (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 11, lot 1353), this is a clock, dated 1930s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 9.25 in (23 cm). The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate
Very rare 1930s J.L. Rutter Atmos clock, the 4.75" gilt chapter ring with Arabic numerals enclosing a skeletonised centre and inscribed no. 2922 on the front plate of the movement, also inscribed Brevets J.L. Rutter, S.G.D.G., made in France on a plate screwed to the strapwork brace supporting the movement and further inscribed on this plate no. 4335, within a bevelled glazed chrome bound case supported on a squat pierced flared foot, 9.25" high, within a folding white leather Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos clock travelling case ** The vendor of this clock was employed by Jaeger-LeCoultre and was given this clock by the company for work purposes
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
Between 1900 and 1945 clocks were electrified: master-clock systems ran factories and offices, synchronous mains clocks entered homes, and the Shortt free-pendulum clock set new standards of accuracy before the first quartz clocks (1927). Art Deco design reshaped mantel and table clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Skeleton clocks
A skeleton clock displays its movement: the plates are pierced to a minimum so that wheels, escapement and fusee can be seen, usually under a glass dome. French makers produced fine skeleton clocks in the late eighteenth century; in Victorian England they became popular showpieces, with frames in the shapes of cathedrals and famous buildings.
What to look for
- Pierced brass plates in scroll or architectural shapes.
- A glass dome and wooden or marble base.
- Fusee movements and sometimes passing strike on a bell.
Dating clues
- French skeleton clocks: c. 1780–1830.
- English cathedral-style skeleton clocks: c. 1840–1890.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:FuseeAnchor (recoil) escapement
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