Clocks and Watches

No house is complete without a mechanical clock and an auction is a great place to pick one up at a reasonable price.

RWB Auctions offers mantle clocks, wall clocks long case clocks, carriage clocks, bracket clocks, cuckoo clocks, alarm clocks and clockmaking tools as part of our monthly general sales.

In the past, each city and large town would have had their own clockmaker. Following the Industrial Revolution, larger manufacturers like Winterhalder & Hofmeier, Junghans and Japy Freres began to dominate the market. The reputation of the clockmaker is an important factor in assessing value. A piece by Thomas Tompion, often referred to as the father of English clockmaking will set you back a lot more than a late-model American Ansonia clock.

Our horology experts and consultants also look at the quality of the movement. Single train movements simply record the time on a dial, while two train movements strike on the hour, and sometimes the half-hour as well. More complicated three train movements strike every quarter of an hour, often with the familiar ‘Westminster Chimes’. Mechanical clocks are usually driven by weights or a spring that needs winding with a key. Collectors and dealers will also be interested in the clock’s escapement and associated mechanisms which control how precisely it keeps time. The more elaborate the mechanism, the more your clock might be worth.

The style and condition of the clock’s case and dial can also impact its value. Cases are often made of wood but sometimes metal, ceramic or marble. They reflect the taste of the area and era where the clock was produced. Damage to the case or dial may be repaired by a non-specialist but issues with the mechanism can be expensive to correct.