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Clocks · Carriage clock

French repeating carriage clock

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
c. 1880
Historical period
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
Country of origin
France
Object type
Carriage clock
Dimensions
Height 17 cm
Dealer
The Antique Clock Company (dealer), Dorset
Stock no.
Product 2527
Credit line
Dealer listing, The Antique Clock Company (product 2527)
Catalogue title (original)
FINE ANTIQUE FRENCH REPEATING CARRIAGE CLOCK (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by The Antique Clock Company (dealer), Dorset (stock number Product 2527), this is a carriage clock, made in France, dated c. 1880. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 17 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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 — The Antique Clock Company

A high quality French gilt brass gorge cased carriage clock with bevelled glasses and a large viewing glass to the top. An excellent clean white enamel An excellent French polished gilt brass gorge cased carriage clock with bevelled glasses and handle over a large bevelled glass inspection panel, moulded cornice and uprights to a matching base. An excellent clean white enamel dial with Roman numerals and finished with original finely blued steel hands. The 8-day striking, repeating movement is finished with the original silvered Swiss lever platform escapement with compensated bi-metallic balance. The clock strikes the hours to a gong, with a single strike on the half-hour. A stunning clock of great quality. Height: 6 ¾ ” or 17cm (Handle up)

Provenance

Private collection U.K.

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.

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