Clocks

A well-documented George II astronomical walnut longcase made by James Gandy of Cockermouth was the highlight of a recent sale at Mitchells’ (22% buyer’s premium) in Cumbria.

A new addition to the permanent collection of the Reform Club on Pall Mall is a William IV Scottish eight-day painted dial longcase.

An impressive 19th century longcase regulator attracted several bidders at a sale held by Metz (28/25% buyer’s premium) in Heidelberg.

Nineteenth century French creation features Fall of Phaeton Greek myth

Archibald Knox (1864-1933) is known today as the genius behind the Cymric and Tudric ranges sold by Liberty & Co in the early 20th century.

The French inventor André Romain Guilmet (1827-92) took out many patents for his ingenious designs including in 1868 the idea for a driving chain on a bicycle.

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the French king Louis XIV in 1685 led to the massive exodus of Huguenots, many of whom moved to Great Britain.

A private collection of clocks provided the core of the auction titled Clocks & Watches Through the Ages at TW Gaze on March 4. Seventeenth century continental European clocks provided two of the day’s top prices.

An elaborate 18th century French skeleton clock tentatively linked with two leading names working in Paris during the golden age of French clockmaking led a recent Kidson Trigg’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Swindon.

Cotswold Art Antiques Chelsea runs from March 20-23 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London.

This silver desk clock designed in the form of a Rolls-Royce radiator grille with a red enamel badge and a miniature Spirit of Ecstasy mascot perched on top is thought to have been given as a Christmas gift by the British luxury car maker to one of its distributors.

Salisbury saleroom holds specialist offering staged as part of a three-day sale as demand increases

Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805-71) began to develop the very first mystery clocks in c.1830.

An unusual, slightly risky, but highly effective late 17th century alarm clock found a new owner at Dr Crott (25% buyer’s premium) in Mannheim.

A stand-out lot of Bellmans’ (25% buyer’s premium) biannual Fine Clocks auction on December 5 was a chronometer made for the 1874 British expedition to observe the transit of Venus.

Pictured here are two very different timekeepers from sales held in Paris by Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium).

Harrogate Pavilions fair has a healthy focus on art and antiques made in the area such as clocks

In Norman Dean’s day, to be a watch collector was to collect pocket watches. In today’s market, when the 20th century mechanical wristwatch is king, demand for pocket watches is now markedly segmented.

For many decades, from the middle of the 16th century, the south German city of Augsburg was, alongside Nuremberg, the leading clockmaking centre in Germany.

In the 18th century, it was common practice for English watchmakers to spend several years in Paris where they were able to learn from the greatest craftsmen of the day, before returning home.