Clocks

A clockmaking industry thrived in the Chew Valley of Somerset in the second half of the 17th century.

Emmanuelle Sibley, a student at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation specialising in clocks and related objects, has been given the opportunity to conserve the Kings’ Clock in advance of the reopening of The Courtauld Gallery on November 19.

As an inventor and an entrepreneur, Dr John C Taylor feels a special affinity with the pioneering clockmakers of the English Golden Age. And it is this connection that has guided his collecting across several decades.

A rare 17th century elephant automaton clock was the star of the Christie’s New York Exceptional sale when it sold at $2.15m (£1.58m) to a private buyer.

Of such high quality that they justify the description ‘cabinet miniatures’, examples of a small group of silk and metal thread embroideries of Charles I can be seen in the V&A and Wallace Collection in London and in the New York Met.

Edinburgh-made clocks that predate 1700 are rare.

From the middle of the 19th century, Parisian clockmaker Lévy Frères, which had established a workshop in the late 1820s, was a highly successful manufacturer of timepieces in the neo-rococo style.

Stations, signal boxes and offices all depended on accurate timekeepers and just about every Victorian railway company commissioned clocks.

A rare early 18th century folding table and a William III clock were spotted at recent auctions by a Cambridgeshire dealer.

Maker, movement, case decoration, provenance, rarity and original condition are the factors that combine to create value in the clock market. Here Richard Fox discusses some of the best examples recently sold at auction with the views of specialists at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams

A mid-19th century English giant carriage chronometer timepiece proved to be highly sought after at a recent Bonhams’ Fine Clocks sale.

Regulators hold their own distinct appeal for collectors who like their aesthetic and are interested in their historic horological function as precision timepieces.

On a single day in 1919 the Imperial German Navy achieved the impressive feat of sinking 52 vessels. Unfortunately, they were its own ships.

Two very different timekeepers came up for sale at Kinsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna on July 6-8.

Highlights from the first tranche of the clock collection of Isle of Man entrepreneur and horologist Dr John C Taylor (b.1936) were offered for sale by dealership Carter Marsh in London last week.

While the Taylor collection is this summer’s horological focus – “a once in a generation event” is how one dealer described it – plenty of other purchasing opportunities are available for enthusiasts of the best in early English clockmaking.

The first clocks represented the pinnacle of English technology and often lead the way in fashion.

This walnut longcase, c.1710, by Daniel Quare (1648/49-1724) with a month duration movement is priced at £95,000 by Howard Walwyn.

A fine late 17th century ebony veneered quarter repeating table timepiece by the father of English clockmaking, Thomas Tompion, leads Bonhams’ Fine Clocks sale in London on June 22.