Clock key by Payne & Co, England, 19th century

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number 1009-1882), this is a clock key by Payne & Co, made in England, dated 19th century. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Copper alloy, partly gilded. 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

Atlas type guide

Cases, keys and accessories

Clock and watch cases protect the movement and express taste and status. Watch cases were made by separate specialist case-makers whose marks, along with assay hallmarks, help to date and place them. Clock cases were the work of cabinet-makers, bronze founders, ceramic factories and silversmiths, so they belong as much to the history of decorative arts as to horology.

Keys, chatelaines, watch stands, watch papers and winding tools are part of the material culture of timekeeping: they show how timepieces were worn, displayed, wound and maintained.

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.