VR-327 - Inlaid Biedermeier Vienna Regulator Timepiece
I really appreciate the interesting and unusual features found on clocks from the earlier periods - especially when made outside of the mainstream of Vienna. While I do not know the origin of this clock, it is clearly a very unusual and very collectible piece. The things that I noted while shooting photo’s include the rather unusual beat adjustment mechanism with its beautifully executed pieces, the use of rather large knurled nuts to hold the mechanism together, the very large gear on the winding arbor (it gives the impression of a longer duration mechanism), the rather unusual pendulum bob adjustment nuts (consisting of two knurled nuts - allowing one to lock the adjustment nut in position), the unusual weight hook with a domed and knurled washer, the beautifully executed crutch arbor bridge and the striking crutch-pin guide on the pendulum rod as well as the pendulum rod end cap which incorporates the spring hanger: Taken separately any one of these bits would make a clock interesting - to find a clock with this many unusual features is very rare, and the mark of a gifted maker.
I would be remiss to not comment on the dial and hands: The milk-glass dial is in excellent, if a bit dirty condition, and the hands are works of art, beautifully pierced, with the straight sections rounded to give them a more pleasing look. And even the second hand is original - something one rarely finds. And, as appropriate for a Biedermeier piece, the dial is single piece, and surrounded by a gorgeous engine-turned bezel!
Of course, it wouldn’t do to house such an unusual mechanism in just any case. The three-lite case, with its arched door, brass stringing, rope-twist columns to the sides of the door, and lovely tail, is in excellent condition. To me a significant element of the joy a clock like this gives me is the case patina - documenting the vicissitudes of life, but not hiding the glory of the piece. Not to say this case is beat up, it is in fact in excellent condition, but there is the appropriate darkening to corners, and highlights to edges that have been rubbed over the last 150 years. And, all of the glass is old and wavy - a lovely piece in any light.
And, as I describe the clock, it is ticking away behind me.
Read MoreI would be remiss to not comment on the dial and hands: The milk-glass dial is in excellent, if a bit dirty condition, and the hands are works of art, beautifully pierced, with the straight sections rounded to give them a more pleasing look. And even the second hand is original - something one rarely finds. And, as appropriate for a Biedermeier piece, the dial is single piece, and surrounded by a gorgeous engine-turned bezel!
Of course, it wouldn’t do to house such an unusual mechanism in just any case. The three-lite case, with its arched door, brass stringing, rope-twist columns to the sides of the door, and lovely tail, is in excellent condition. To me a significant element of the joy a clock like this gives me is the case patina - documenting the vicissitudes of life, but not hiding the glory of the piece. Not to say this case is beat up, it is in fact in excellent condition, but there is the appropriate darkening to corners, and highlights to edges that have been rubbed over the last 150 years. And, all of the glass is old and wavy - a lovely piece in any light.
And, as I describe the clock, it is ticking away behind me.
