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Edwardian triple fusee English or German ?


wls1971

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I've had this clock about 2 Years and have only just got round to servicing it, the earliest service mark I found was on the reverse of the dial and dated oct 1913, its a very compact little bracket clock and stands just over  14 inches high, its a triple fusee with the going train fusee cone reversed so that all three cones fit in a small space, the going train has maintaining power, and the escapement is a anchor, I have two other double fusee clocks with the exact same engraved dials both those are very similar and make me think they are from the same manufacturer, but all are unsigned. From what I have read it is very difficult to distinguish English or German manufacture from this period, and a lot of English makers had given up the Ghost and bought in German movements to recase for domestic sale.

 

What are the things to look out for that would make you say that's English or German ?

 

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These movements are English and are very late Victorian. They are monster movements and they are in there thousands mass produced. Known as boardroom clocks. Some people think they are made by Winterhalder & Hofmeier, no is the answer what you have is far better made in comparison.  Very little goes wrong with these just a good service because of the superiority of the brass and steel. 

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Thanks for the reply oldhippy, the thing with this movement is that its not very large its diminutive compared to the boardroom clock movements which I have two the plates on those are 10 inches by 8 inches and have six pillars, this one is around 5 by 7 inches so quite a bit smaller and with four pillars, and yes you are right most common name banded about when describing these clocks is Winterhalder, I did think the plates where far too thick for a German clock, and the quality of the casting on the metal case parts is far better than I have seen on any Winterhalder.

I did see one other almost exactly the same as this one sold on a American auction site described as German so that cast a seed of doubt in my head.

And yes very little wear anywhere on the clock the only thing I found was the strike spring barrel had a  scored cap because whoever serviced it last had put a badly coned spring back in which had scraped against it I have replaced the spring , I also think that the chime barrel chain has been replaced at some point because its a tad too long

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On 10/19/2020 at 9:40 AM, wls1971 said:

Thanks for the reply oldhippy, the thing with this movement is that its not very large its diminutive compared to the boardroom clock movements which I have two the plates on those are 10 inches by 8 inches and have six pillars, this one is around 5 by 7 inches so quite a bit smaller and with four pillars, and yes you are right most common name banded about when describing these clocks is Winterhalder, I did think the plates where far too thick for a German clock, and the quality of the casting on the metal case parts is far better than I have seen on any Winterhalder.

I did see one other almost exactly the same as this one sold on a American auction site described as German so that cast a seed of doubt in my head.

And yes very little wear anywhere on the clock the only thing I found was the strike spring barrel had a  scored cap because whoever serviced it last had put a badly coned spring back in which had scraped against it I have replaced the spring , I also think that the chime barrel chain has been replaced at some point because its a tad too long

Beautiful clock

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