Featured English lantern clock

This was part of a box lot. The key was included and it keeps surprisingly good time! It was made by Smiths English Clocks, Great Britain .

 

LOVE it!!!

 

LUUUUVE IT !!!!!!

 

I find it interesting that the space between each numeral is marked off into 4 segments rather than 5. It permitted them to center those little decorative arrows, but a hindrance if you want to know the time to the minute. Does it make quite a racket of ticking?

 

N I I I C E!!!!

 

The dial design copies that of the original 17th C. weight driven clocks with verge escapements where time keeping to the minute was just impossible. The earlier clocks had just one hand and the marks were for quarter hours, as near as they could reasonably get to accuracy. My avatar picture is of an 18th C lantern clock dial.

The Smiths clocks date from the 1950s, they are smaller than the originals and have a spring driven movement with a platform lever escapement that would be no noisier than a carriage clock.
They are fairly common in Britain and of reasonably good quality but do not fetch much money. They were available in at least three sizes.

 

Think that model is called the "Nell Gwynne" and was made from 1950-1979 although towards 1979 I think they were either mains or quartz as the mechanical version was dropped.
Cheers
Stephen

 

I could take you to exactly where that was made. I know people who worked there. Smths has a fascinating history: aviation was huge in London with many hundreds of factories. They made aircraft instruments.

 

They also made clocks with brushed velour dials in several colours. Think their designers were smoking the "good stuff" in the thirties.

 

Good Heavens! I should think so! That red one looks like an overripe watermelon. (Was that what they were aiming for??)

 

Yep. Streaky brushed velour in glaring colours. I guess this was the end of the art deco period (1939) and they wanted to stand out in the crowd.
Cheers
Stephen

 

This clock measures only 7" tall. It ticks VERY quietly--you really have to put your ear next to it it hear it at all.

 

Lynnie - I had a cat like that! The only way to hear him purr was to have an ear on his body! If he were draped across me, I could feel him vibrate - but hear him? No way.