Carriage clock; Viennese mantle clock; Westminster

A typical carriage clock with hour and half strike, made at the end of 19th century. All parts are polished. This time consuming operation is one of the most important reasons for the cost of restoring an antique clock.

Almost everybody knows this kind of clock.

The back plate with the typical blued steel spiral gong of the strike mechanism.

The rack and snail striking mechanism.

 

A close-up of the platform.
The escapement is of the Swiss anchor type with temperature compensated balance wheel. This peculiarity, together with the fact that this kind of clock runs always in the same position, makes of it a very reliable timekeeper. Sometimes it happens to encounter "false" compensated balance wheel, with only half deep cuts on the rim. The whole platform is very similar to this one, differing only for a small but important detail.

 

Wooden "Viennese" mantel clock. The movement of this clock was in awful conditions: it ran for a period of over 50 years without any maintenance. Lack of lubrication caused serious damage. You can see the movement fully restored.