Universal Genève clock, ref. 999.116.01, circa 1960-1970's — view 1 of 1
View 1 of 1 · Image: Antiquorum Genève SA · original image source

Clocks · Clock

Universal Genève clock, ref. 999.116.01, circa 1960-1970's

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Universal Genève (brand / maker)
Date
circa 1960-1970's
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Clock
Lot
Lot 389-124
Credit line
Auction lot record: LOT 124
Catalogue title (original)
UNIVERSAL GENÈVE, SWITZERLAND, REF. 999.116.01, GILT BRASS

View the source record (auction lot) ↗

Record summary

Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 389-124), this is a clock by Universal Genève, made in Switzerland, dated circa 1960-1970's. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Clocks collection. 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

Antiquorum catalogue description

EUR 1,600 - 2,700 / CHF 1,500 - 2,500 / USD 1,850 - 3,100 / JPY 284,000 - 472,000 A fine and unusual, gilt brass, electro-mechanical center second desk clock

Lot specifications (Antiquorum)

Caliber: Ato; Case No.: 2539053; Movement No.: 104789; Signature: dial and case

Provenance

Property of a Swiss gentleman

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

Post-war clocks combined new materials and industrial design: plastic and metal cases, battery-powered transistor movements from the late 1950s, and design classics by George Nelson, Max Bill and others. The first caesium atomic clock (1955) moved the definition of time from astronomy to physics.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

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

Related records