Vienna Regulator Terms and Glossary

GLOSSARY - EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE CLOCKS The description of each clock includes a simple table of information designed to provide an overview, or summary of the clocks overall condition, as well as provide basic data, like case length, number of weights, and price. Each of the categories in the table are briefly discussed below. Please, mail, e-mail or call me with any questions you may have. Purchase Price: If a purchase price is listed, it is the current purchase price for that clock. If no price is listed, please contact me for information. Remember, there are shipping and insurance charges to add to this amount, plus any mechanism or case work you might want done. Alternatively, if you pick up the clock in Oklahoma, there is a 7.75% Oklahoma Sales Tax that will be due unless you have a valid resale number. Weights: Vienna Regulators typically have 1, 2, or 3 weights. 1. A one weight clock tells time, and that is all -- it is a non-striking clock. These clocks are often referred to as time-pieces. A variant is the 1 weight, 2 spring clocks that provide a granne-sonnerie strike, but which typically only run for 1 or 2 days. 2. A two weight clock tells time and counts the hour at the hour (on a bell or gong), and sometimes strike once at the half hour. 3. A three weight clock tells time, and strikes every fifteen minutes. Most 3 weight Vienna Regulators provide a "Blind-mans" or "Granne Sonnerie" strike, in which the clock will first count the quarters on one gong, then the hour on a second, different pitch gong. So, for 7:15, the clock would strike one tone on the first gong, then 7 tones on the second gong. Length: I measure the length from the very lowest point on the clock to the very highest. This can be a bit confusing when comparing two clocks that are basically the same size, except one has its top and bottom finials, and the other doesn’t. This can make 8 or 10 inches difference in overall length. Wall Stabilizers: The wall stabilizers are the small knobs toward the base of the clock that can be screwed in or out to adjust the clock's angle to the wall. They can also (since they were originally pointed) help to keep the clock from moving on the wall. Remember, there was a time that these clocks were hung on some fairly rough and angled walls. I do my best to indicate if the stabilizers are new replacements, but do not try to point out stabilizers that are old and have been moved to a new location on the back board. A lot of these clocks have had the screws wallowed out that originally held the stabilizer brackets in place, so the brackets have often been moved. Miniature clocks often do not have adjustable stabilizers, instead having a pair of sharpened metal points protruding from the lower back of the clock. These serve the same purpose as the adjustable stabilizers, they just aren’t adjustable. Case Condition: This is a subjective assessment that I make to try and help you understand the overall condition of the case. 1 is best, 5 is pretty torn up. I try to take into account a number of aspects for each clock, including presence of wood borers, condition of finish (note, under case condition, an original finish in great shape is ranked the same as a new finish in great shape), appropriateness of replacement parts, condition of earlier repairs (bad glue jobs pull a clock down pretty quickly)... But I also try to stand back, and, as I have been taught by some very talented collectors, get a feel for the whole clock. How does it come together - does it feel right? So, while case condition is subjective, I try to leave you with an impression of how the case hits me - is it in good condition, or is it pretty rough. Winding Key: Again, if I don’t say it is new, it is old. Typically I will add some comments in the descriptive text if it has a wooden handle or the like. I try to provide keys for all clocks, though it the clock did not come to me with a key, it will probably have a very nice, but also new key provided. Mechanism: Again, this is a subjective assessment. When I rank a mechanism as clean, it means it looks like someone has in the last year or so cleaned the mechanism. This is not a guarantee the clock will run, only that the mechanism looks clean. If you so desire I will clean the mechanisms of the clocks I sell, and I have provided prices for this service elsewhere in the site. If I clean a mechanism I warrant that it will run. Of course, there are a few clocks that I like the looks of, so I hang them in my home for the time they stay with me. If I indicate in the description that they are running, it is because I have kept them wound and on my walls. Again, this is not a guarantee, just an acknowledgment that the clock runs. When I say a mechanism is dirty, well, it can be pretty darned dirty. I don’t like to run mechanisms that are dirty, because the poor thing will obviously wear more that it should. But I have seen a number of what I consider really dirty mechanisms run quite strongly. Mechanism Mounts: I remember one clock maker who told me that the only Vienna Regulators that are worth having are the ones with wooden seat boards. Interesting concept. Reality is that the finest mechanisms typically are mounted on either a wooden seat board or on four posts with key-holes in the mechanism back plate. But, like any simple rule, there are exceptions. Generally, earlier clocks either have a wooden seat board, four posts with keyholes, or hang off of a hook on the back board and have two spikes (or adjustable screws) coming off the lower back of the mechanism (or off of arms that mount to the back plate) that rest against the back board. Later clocks have metal brackets that mount to the back board and the mechanism mounts to a metal plate that slides into (or screws with thumb-screws) to the bracket. Beat Scale: Once again, if it is obviously new I will so state. Otherwise, all I can really tell you is if it is there or not. While I don’t see evidence of lots of replaced beat scales, it is rather hard to tell if they are original or not. The really fun beat scales are the ones that include information on the maker or the shop where the clock was sold. Pendulum: There are three backings typically found on Vienna Regulator pendulum bobs (note, I am excluding R/A bobs - they are labeled as such); those backed with brass, zinc, or steel. Many years ago, when I was first discovering Vienna Regulators, I remember looking at clocks at NAWCC MARTS, and I also remember hoping to find clocks with zinc-backed bobs. At that time, zinc backed bobs, and wooden seat-boards were my criteria for quality. Even then I had figured out that the later German clocks had steel-backed bobs and metal mechanism mounting brackets. But it was the later German clocks that were most of what I saw. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found that the early clocks had brass-backed bobs! While there is a lot of overlap between the periods for each of these materials, I offer the following rough rules of thumb: Brass Backed - From the beginning (1800ish) through 1850. Note too that some of the early bobs had no back, relying on only a strap or the like to hold the bob to the pendulum rod. Zinc Backed - Predominant after 1850, but you will find earlier examples. Vienna Regulators had zinc-backed bobs into the 1880's on the higher-quality clocks. Steel Backed - From what I have seen this is a feature that appeared in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth century. The German factories apparently began this shift, though it is not uncommon to find zinc-backed bobs on clocks made well into the last years of the nineteenth century, especially in Austrian-made pieces. So, there you have it. My summary of what my descriptions mean and how I categorize the clocks presented on our website. If you have questions, please contact me by clicking on the link below, or call me at: 405-348-2666 (please leave a message if no answer, and I will get back to you).