Posted 2 years ago
rlwindle
(189 items)
Before there was quartz there was ATO. Although they both run on batteries, I like the ATO and its swing pendulum.
In 1923 Leon Hatot a well known jeweler in Paris patented his battery operated clock under the ATO band name. "ATO" is not an acronym for anything, just the three letters in the middle of his last name. He went on later to develop the self winding watch, that wound itself by the movement of the person wearing it. SWATCH watch company bought and still uses Hatot's principles.
Herman Miller designed the case, and bears #3019, one of Miller's earliest designs.
I wanted another ATO clock, I already have one Junghan's, and saw this one for auction on EBay, I made a bid and won it. When it arrived I examined it only to find that it was made by the pere of the clock's movement Leon Hatot in Paris (see third picture), when I removed the battery holder off the clock movement. These clocks made in the 20's and 30's can be adapted to use regular 1.5 volt batteries, but the batteries they used to use are still available through some clock supplier's websites like Timesavers.com. The clock is in working order.
I have yet to figure out what the inlay on the bottom of the clock is.
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Thanks for telling us about ATO!
In French you pronounce the name that way: Ah toe. Clever marketing!
I like the stringing (really does look like a ribbon) and the conch shell.
Nice shape too!