Rare Early Austrian Skeleton Clock

This unique skeleton clock is a beautiful mechanical wonder. A gleaming silvered, pierced, and engraved dial rests atop a gilt and silvered portico-style frame. Elegant Roman numerals display the time around the skeletonized dial center. Between the clock’s frame, an eye-catching pinwheel pendulum sways in front of an artful lyre-shaped column.

The shining mechanical feature of this clock is the Grande Sonnerie striking mechanism. A true grand complication of horology, the Grande Sonnerie strikes the current quarter-hour and hour every 15 minutes. The hour and half hour respectively strike on their own separately tuned gongs to denote each strike’s difference. It audibly announces the time with accuracy every 15 minutes. A complex mechanism in any clock, a Grande Sonnerie is an incredibly rare occurrence in skeleton clocks; rarer still to be Austrian-made. The complexity of this striking system made it exorbitantly cost-prohibitive for most clockmakers to produce movements this elaborate. Furthermore, as few could afford to commission clock movements of this caliber, the market for Grande Sonnerie movements was limited.

Skeletonized movements have long held a fascination for collectors, appreciators, and clockmakers alike. The mesmerizing exhibition of gears and moving parts masterfully showcase the beauty and complexity of clockmaking. Although originally popularized in France in the late 18th century, England produced the vast majority of skeleton clocks. An early 19th-century Austrian-made skeleton clock is truly a rare occurrence. This clock is a prized addition for any collector or appreciator, combining a rarity of caliber, time frame, and country of origin.

This fully restored 8-day clock comes with a one-year warranty.

Circa 1825