Posted 22 months, 3 days ago
brock
(3 items)
My grandmother passed away recently and I was given her clock. It weighs about 18lb. and my mom said she had this forever.... Thank you.
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Also, who made this clock? I would love to know. Thank you.
This nice clock was made in France, probably around 1860 - 1900. The round French movements are very well made. There were many styles of slate and marble cased French clocks made during that time.
There is a book about these clocks called "The French Marble Clock: A Guide for Buyers, Collectors and Restorers with Hints on Dating and a List of Makers" by Nicolas M. Thorpe. It is listed at Amazon.com at:
http://www.amazon.com/French-Marble-Clock-Collectors-Restorers/dp/071980230X
This is Amazing. Thank you so much for this information. I spent all day yesterday reading tons of information but the lack of markings only served to send me bouncing for something more concrete. I am very thankful for you sharing your knowledge. Thank you.
The French system of manufacture was for one or more companies to make the various components, which were then assembled by a third party. They are called "roulet" movements (pronounced "ru-LAY" - when the final letter is a consonant in French, it is silent) Roulet is French for "round" or "rolling".
Thank you. I am awaiting a couple of books I have ordered. I have located a key but haven't received it yet. So my clocks movements are "roulet" assemb;ed by a third party. This is why there is no name...right? Considering your name, do you do repairs? I appreciate the information. Thank you very much!
Yes, Precision Repair is my firm name. I specialize in American 18th and 19th century clocks, but do not mind taking on French, German, Black Forest, and English movements as well.
You are correct in your conclusions about the manufacture of your French movement. As I understand the situation, it was much the same as Black Forest construction - almost a "cottage industry". I believe the French were a little more organized than the Black Forest people, in that there were shops established where workers operated in a factory environment, but they were assembling and finishing parts manufactured elsewhere. It is interesting to me that this resulted in a certain amount of interchangability of parts from one clock to another. So although Henry Ford was credited with inventing the assembly line approach to manufacture, actually he was merely following in the footsteps of Eli Whtney, who came up with the idea of interchangeable parts, and the French, who came up with the concept of assembly production. Ford merely took those two concepts one step further, and specialized each worker. So there was, for instance, one worker whose entire job consisted of putting wheels on the side of the car nearest him on the assembly line.
The problem inherrent in the Ford concept of production was, of course, that there was no sense of ownership in the final product. No one could say, "I built this car," so there was no reason for pride in workmanship. That was not true in the French system, because in France, although the parts were "outsourced" (to quote a modern phrase) each worker produced a complete, or nearly complete movement. Sometimes the suspension system was installed by a different person, and frequently the cases were made separately, and the movements were installed into the case by a third person or party.Consequently, the quality of French movements did not suffer.
This is a great history lesson. I love learning about anything and you have shared a great breakdown of these clocks very well. This is so fascinating to me. I did locate a key but even though it would wind...upon release of the key it would immediately unwind rapidly. I will be contacting you. Sorry for the delay in response. ( 2 jobs leave me with little time.)
Do you have a web site?
I am working on getting a website up and running, but between the time requirement, and the learning curve, it is a slow process. If the ckock unwinds as soon as you release the key, there is a problem in the click mechanism. THe winding arbor is fitted with a ratchet wheel. There is supposed to be a pawl that locks on the ratchet, commonly called a "click". In your clock, either the click is worn or missing, or (more likely) the click spring has broken, so the click is not being held against the ratchet wheel. That is a relatively easy fix, although it usually entails fabricating a click spring, as there are so many different sizes and configurations that finding one that is right for your clock is iffy, at best.
I have created an email account so I can post it on here. You may contact me via this email jz555@live.com to discuss further. I really appreciate your help. brock
Also, it is not a problem if you prefer not to contact me. I appreciate the shared knowledge. Thank you very much. brock