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Tower clock movement by Joris Clauwert, 1592 — view 1 of 1
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Movements & Components · Tower clock movement

Tower clock movement by Joris Clauwert, 1592

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Joris Clauwert (Maker)
Date
1592
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Asperen plaats van vervaardiging
Object type
Tower clock movement
Materials / technique
hout (plantaardig materiaal) ijzer hout
Holding institution
Loevestein Castle
Accession / object no.
L1994-43
Credit line
Loevestein Castle
Catalogue title (original)
Torenuurwerk, ijzer/hout, 16de eeuw (Dutch)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Loevestein Castle (object number L1994-43), this is a tower clock movement by Joris Clauwert, made in Asperen plaats van vervaardiging, dated 1592. The Atlas places it in the Renaissance Horology period (1400 – 1600) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: hout (plantaardig materiaal) ijzer hout. 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 Loevestein Castle

De wijzerplaat in de toren was d.m.v. twee lange assen met het uurwerk verbonden. De assen dreven een wijzer aan. De rem voor de klokslag is in de vorm van een 'windmolen' aan de linkerkant van het uurwerk aangebracht.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

Renaissance Horology (1400 – 1600)

Spring power makes clocks portable; Nuremberg and Augsburg produce the first watches; the Prague Orloj is built.

Movements were made by hand in iron and brass; screws were rare and parts were fixed with pins and wedges.

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Medieval Period

Atlas type guide

Clock and watch movements

The movement is the mechanism of a clock or watch, without its case and dial. It consists of the power source (weight or mainspring in its barrel, sometimes with a fusee), the going train of wheels and pinions, the escapement and oscillator, the motion work that drives the hands, and in many cases additional trains for striking or complications.

From the eighteenth century watch movements were increasingly produced in stages: Swiss and French ébauche makers supplied rough movements that finishers, repasseurs and retailers completed and signed. Calibre numbers — first used systematically by American and Swiss factories in the nineteenth century — make it possible to identify movements, find spare parts and date watches.

What to look for

  • Plate and bridge layout: full plate, three-quarter plate, Lépine bar calibre, bridges and cocks.
  • Jewel count and whether jewels are set in chatons or rubbed in.
  • Signatures, calibre and serial numbers on the plate or under the dial.
  • Finishing: Geneva stripes (Côtes de Genève), perlage, bevelled edges, blued screws.
  • Fusee and chain, going barrel, or electrical components.

Dating clues

  • Full-plate English movements dominate before c. 1850; three-quarter plate and Lépine calibres after.
  • Jewelled movements spread after Facio and Debaufre's patent of 1704, mainly in English work until c. 1800.
  • Calibre numbers and factory serials allow close dating for industrial production after c. 1850.

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:FuseeDetached lever escapementVerge escapement

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