essex clock repair service
 
0845 467 9006

A carriage clock is typified by five bevelled-glass panels set in a brass-framed case displaying a polished movement inside and topped with a handle. Never trust the handle to lift one without cradling it in the other hand for support; I've never seen a handle come off but they are only fixed with a pin and it's just not worth the risk.

Many had red leather cases to protect them, with a removeable panel on the front so that you could still see the time. Some had alarms to wake you in the morning. Some strike the hours and some have a button to repeat the last hour, so you did not need to light a candle to tell the time at night.

There's no pendulum - these clocks were packed with your other luggage while travelling (in your carriage). So they needed to work whether standing on the bedside table or lying on their side. This eliminates a pendulum movement so through the top glass panel, you'll see a flat platform set with an escapement like the one in an old mechanical pocket watch; a wheel on a hairspring rotating back and forth, four or five times a second. It might be a lever escapement or a cylinder escapement. At first glance, they look the same.

The first carriage clocks appeared in around 1825 and had one-piece cases. Gradually these gave way to multi-piece cases, which were much cheaper to produce in quantity. Multi-part cases were so called because they are made by assembling pre-formed parts that had been hand finished. Most parts have two or three digits stamped on them to help the assemblers identify which parts go together. The vast majority were made in France in towns around Paris; but beware the Chinese imports that are brand new but sometimes deliberately aged to deceive. Read more about fake Chinese carriage clocks to avoid.

Case style vary a great deal but the commonest are the plain 0bis, which has a flat top, and the Corniche, which has a raised and slightly more decorative top but is otherwise the same. Both were popular from 1880 until 1930 and were mass-produced around Paris for export to the UK and US, which explains why you often see Made in France (in English) stamped on the back. Some of the better makers include Margaine, Garnier and L'Epee but factories like Japy Frères, Leroy, Duverdrey and R & Co, turned out thousands and thousands every year to firms like Tiffany, Garrard and Mappin and Webb.

Keys are typically double ended, one for winding the eight-day movement and the other for making adjustments to the hands from the back as the dial isn't accessible from the front.

There are only two really good books on carriage clocks, one by Charles Allix and the other by Derek Roberts. They are lavishly illustrated but both long out of print so expect to pay £60 at a decent book dealer if you can find a copy. Otherwise, try your local library. If you can make do with fewer pictures, Laurie Penman produces the best of those currently in print.

My flat rate for overhauling a timepiece is £75 and for a striking version it's £100. For more complex versions like repeaters, quarter chiming, grand sonnerie, I will need to see it first but it will not be less that £125. For that, I'll strip the movement, clean it and polish it, check it for wear and proper alignment and engagement of wheels and pinions, rebush up to two worn pivot holes, and set it up correctly. But it does not include any work on the platform (which is outside my expertise and will require a watchmaker) or on the case or bevelled glass, which will be extra. All work paid for is guaranteed for 12 months.

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