Clocks · Carriage clock
Carriage clock by A.h.rodanet, Paris, c. 1880
- Maker / attribution
- A.h.rodanet (maker)
- Date
- c. 1880
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- Paris
- Object type
- Carriage clock
- Dimensions
- Height 19 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 38
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 38)
- Catalogue title (original)
- A.H.RODANET N° 2599. An exquisite late 19th century French repeating carriage clock with alarm. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 38), this is a carriage clock by A.h.rodanet, made in Paris, France, dated c. 1880. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 19 cm. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.
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
Dealer description — Howard Walwyn
An exquisite late 19 th century French repeating carriage clock with alarm and unusual burgundy coloured Limoges panels in enamel. The elegant gorge case has a ribbed carrying handle over a stepped upper section with bevelled glass inspection panel and four reeded brass columns on outset corners. The dial has white enamel Roman Hour numerals within a gilt outer minute ring and is divided by gilt fleur-de-lys half-hour markers. It is signed A.H. Rodanet, Fournisseur de la Marine Paris below XII and above the starburst centre. The fine gilt brass hands appear to be original. There is a smaller subsidiary dial at the bottom for the alarm with Arabic numerals and a similar starburst centre with a single gilt brass fleur-de-lys pointer. The left hand side panel depicts a male courtier in fine colourful robes with gilt highlights. His female companion is depicted in the right hand panel with a gilt bag and peacock fan. The 8-day twin barrel movement has a bimetallic balance and strikes and repeats the hours and half hours on a gong. It is also signed A. Rodanet, Paris and is numbered 2599 on the backplate. Date : circa 1880 – 1890 Height : 7 ½ in (19 cm) * A.H. Rodanet was a fine clockmaker and the son of Julien Hilaire Rodanet who was famous for watches, marine chronometers and carriage clocks. He worked in Rue Vivienne, Paris from 1870 until his death in 1907. HW5525
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Carriage and travel clocks
The carriage clock is a portable spring clock with a balance-wheel escapement and a brass case with glass panels and a carrying handle. Abraham-Louis Breguet made early examples around 1800, and from the 1830s Paul Garnier and other French makers industrialised production, with the small towns of Saint-Nicolas-d'Aliermont and the Franche-Comté supplying movements for retailers worldwide.
Typical features include a platform escapement mounted horizontally on top of the movement (usually a lever, sometimes cylinder or Garnier's chaff-cutter), striking or repeating work, and alarms. English carriage clocks, generally larger and with fusees, were made by firms such as Frodsham and Dent. Travel clocks in folding leather cases became popular in the twentieth century.
What to look for
- A platform escapement visible through the top glass.
- Case styles: corniche, gorge, anglaise, obis or engraved cases.
- Repeat buttons on top and strike/silent levers.
- Stamps of movement makers (e.g. Drocourt, Jacot, Margaine, Richard & Co.) on the backplate.
Dating clues
- Early carriage clocks with Breguet or Garnier features: c. 1800–1850.
- Mass-produced French carriage clocks: c. 1850–1914.
- Folding travel clocks and alarm travel clocks: mostly 1920–1970.
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:Detached lever escapement
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