Posted 12 years ago
Lakefive
(22 items)
This clock has been in my Family for over 100 years. It is wood with brass pillars on both sides. The back comes off and shows the interier of the clock. It is a wind up clock and has both keys with it. Any info on this and or its worth would be appreciated.
Hi Lakefive,
Your heirloom is a Sessions "Weldon" circa 1923. The columns are referred to as Egyptian and Copper Columns with Gilt Milt Metal caps and bases. It has Bronze Cast Metal Trimmings. That is a nice quality in this model. Many of the Black Mantel Clocks from this era used white metal with a bronzed finish. Cast Bronze is much stronger. The Dial is made of a material called "Iveroid". As you can clearly see, it ages very well especially when compared to some of the paper dials which have discolored and degraded due to their acid content.
The movement looks clean and well cared for. Does it still run?
Ideally, you would only need one correctly sized double-ended key to wind and regulate the clock, but two work.
A good quality furniture paste wax, or even carnuba car wax formulated f or paint finishes would go a long way toward returning luster to and conserving the original black enamel finish.
Don't use anything harsh or abrasive if you decide to clean it up a little.
As for market value, Tran Duy Ly appraised a mint original example of this model at $375 in 2002.
It just so happens that there is currently one up for Buy It Now on eBay. The seller is asking just over $200.
This model doesn't seem to come up that often. It's a quality clock. I would hang on to it if it were mine.
I hope this solves your unsolved mystery...
Regards
oops..."Gilt Milt Metal" should simply read "Gilt Metal"...
Thanks " Bruce99". Your info helps a lot. Yes it still works, however I have not used the key to wind it up in years....want to prserve it as much as possible. Any ideas what to use to clean up the columns??? Thanks again......
What I've found that works well is "Goop" hand cleaner. Not the abrasive kind with pumice, the gel kind. It's pretty inexpensive and you can find it at any auto supply. Wal-Mart ususally has it in their auto department too.
Keep using a clean part of your cleaning rag until all the dirt and dust is gently lifted from the case. I use Q-tips for the corners and details. That should make the existing, original finish look as nice as possible without polishing away the patina or applying some modern finish on top of it. You don't want to do that...just clean and wax, which is reversible.
You have a genuine antique. That's all that I would do to it, but I'm fairly conservative. As you already know, they have a really nice sound presence if you ever decide to run it. With a little routine, periodic maintenance it would easily run another 100 years!
If you don't have any more questions, please consider marking your Unsolved Mystery as "Solved".
Thanks and enjoy your heirloom! It's always good to see someone holding on to their family memories and history.
Bruce