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Clock by Coppel, Carlos [Casa comercial con sede en Madrid], c. 1915 (early 20th century) — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by Coppel, Carlos [Casa comercial con sede en Madrid], c. 1915 (early 20th century)

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Date
c. 1915 (early 20th century)
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Madera de nogal Metal Pigmento Metal Vidrio
Dimensions
Altura = 33,50 cm Anchura = 21 cm Profundidad = 12,50 cm
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_31790_inventary_CE8742_table_FMUS_museum_MNR
Credit line
National Museum of Romanticism
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by National Museum of Romanticism (object number pages_Main_idt_31790_inventary_CE8742_table_FMUS_museum_MNR), this is a clock by Coppel, Carlos [Casa comercial con sede en Madrid], dated c. 1915 (early 20th century). The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Madera de nogal Metal Pigmento Metal Vidrio. Recorded dimensions: Altura = 33,50 cm Anchura = 21 cm Profundidad = 12,50 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

Catalogue description from National Museum of Romanticism

Reloj de sobremesa, de caja prismática rectangular, en madera de nogal. Maquinaria alemana, sonería por sistema de gong y péndulo de latón pulido. En el frente, ventana de cristal convexo, de apertura lateral izquierda, montada en marco metálico dorado, para acceder a la esfera. Debajo, ventana tripartita de cristal biselado que permite apreciar el movimiento del péndulo. Esfera de metal plateado. Cifras horarias en números árabes pintados en negro. Dos bocallaves. Encima del cañón de agujas, firma de la marca comercial correspondiente a Carlos Coppel. Este relojero, de origen alemán, llegó a España en 1879. Fundó la tienda-fábrica en la madrileña calle de Fuencarral, en 1887. La fábrica se organizó en torno a la jefatura de un director técnico y dio trabajo a cincuenta y cinco empleados, entre españoles, alemanes y franceses. Pronto los relojes fabricados en esta casa alcanzaron fama en España por su buen precio y calidad. Eran conocidos popularmente como los mejor montados y de más fama de Madrid. Con tal éxito amplió su negocio con la apertura de otras tiendas en Madrid hasta que la firma se disolvió a finales del siglo XX (Aranda Huete, A., Catálogo de relojes del Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Madrid, 2015, p. 170).

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

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

Domestic clocks

A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.

Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.

What to look for

  • How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
  • The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
  • Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
  • The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
  • Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.

Dating clues

  • Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
  • Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
  • Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.

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:Verge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapementFoliot

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