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Tower clock movement by te Melle-Buer (D) Korfhage, Netherlands, 1920–1940 — view 1 of 1
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Movements & Components · Tower clock movement

Tower clock movement by te Melle-Buer (D) Korfhage, Netherlands, 1920–1940

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
te Melle-Buer (D) Korfhage (Maker)
Date
1920–1940
Country of origin
Netherlands
Place
Nederland, Europa
Object type
Tower clock movement
Dimensions
Hoogte: 1600 mm, diameter: 1300x900 mm
Holding institution
Museum Klok & Peel
Accession / object no.
3115
Credit line
Museum Klok & Peel
Catalogue title (original)
Torenuurwerk (Dutch)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Museum Klok & Peel (object number 3115), this is a tower clock movement by te Melle-Buer (D) Korfhage, made in Nederland, Europa, Netherlands, dated 1920–1940. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Movements & Components collection. Recorded dimensions: Hoogte: 1600 mm, diameter: 1300x900 mm. 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 Museum Klok & Peel

In de laatste periode dat er nog mechanische torenuurwerken gebouwd werden - tussen 1920 en 1950 - zijn deze al bij de bouw voorzien van elektrische opwinding voor de gewichten, zoals bij dit uurwerk dat door de Fa. van de Kerkhof uit Aarle-Rixtel verhandeld werd. Dit uurwerk beschikt naast gangwerk en gezamenlijk slagwerk voor half- en heeluurslag ook over een bijzonder slagwerk voor de Angelusslag.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

Precision lever movements, electric clock mechanisms and new alloys (invar, elinvar) characterised the period.

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution

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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