Antique Collection

Not all “bracket” clocks stood on wall brackets. Clocks of this type were also used for tables and mantelpieces. Nowadays the term is used to describe all clocks with short pendulums and spring-driven mechanisms. These clocks are also sometimes called “mantel clocks” or “table clocks“.

Few people today would think of packing a carriage clock when they go on a journey, even though, as one of the earliest types of travelling clock, this is what they were made for. Carriage clocks usually have brass cases and were fitted with handles so they could be more easily carried — hence their [...]

The illustration opposite shows a fine mahogany long- case clock by Matthew Dutton, London, circa 1785. It has an eight day movement and subsidiary calendar in a well finished mahogany case. Matthew Dutton was admitted to the clockmaker’s company in 1779. It is rare to find timepieces of this quality in South Africa, but Victorian [...]

A look into the social conditions of a particular age can sometimes give us a better understanding or its products.
The Victorians were a serious people and believed in hard work. Their prodigious engineering feats have never been equalled considering their resources. Their military arrogance was insufferable, their characters were diverse. In this period we had [...]

A fine mahogany long- case clock by Matthew Dutton, London, circa 1785. It has an eight day movement and subsidiary calendar in a well finished mahogany case. Matthew Dutton was admitted to the clockmaker’s company in 1779. It is rare to find timepieces of this quality in South Africa, but Victorian longcase clocks have always [...]

MANTEL CLOCKS, THE MOST HIGHLY DECORATIVE OF ALL CLOCKS, ARE OFTEN REGARDED SIMPLY AS ORNAMENTAL OBJECTS THAT INCIDENTALLY TELL THE TIME. THEIR OWNERS ARE LESS CONCERNED WHEN THEY FAIL MECHANICALLY THAN THEY WOULD BE WITH OTHER CLOCKS.
Mantel clocks were first developed around 1735 in France during the reign of King Louis XV when it became [...]