Description

Foreword

This is a good antique French grand sonnerie carriage clock by Richard & Co., housed in a gilded Corniche case, with originalgilding.  The clock is 7 inches high with carry handle raised, makingit a “Calibre 3” size, the largest of the three so-called “full-sizedCalibre 1 to 3” carriage clocks.

Richard & Co. “potted” biography

The parent firm, Richard et Cie was quite a well-known carriage clock maker.  The company was founded in Paris in 1848, as Lemaitre & Bergnann, adding a London branch in 1857.  In 1867,the branch became Richard & Co. of 24 Cannon Street, London.  Itadvertised as offering “French clocks and carriage clocks (own make)” – going out of their way to stress “All Own Made Goods are of Guaranteed Quality and bear our Trade Mark”

Their full trademark comprises an R and C with snakes entwined around a winged mace, enclosed in an oval.  Clocks bearing the mark “R & Co” denote a clock finished and retailed by the company, but not necessarily manufactured by them.  The London business was closed in 1881.

About…

Richard & Co’s clocks were always well-engineered, coupled withwell-built movements.

As can be seen from this clock, Richard & Co’s full trademark is stamped into the bottom left-hand corner of its backplate, along with the serial number 31.  Whilst no dates can be determined from theserial number, the clock was made in the late 18th century, as the phrase “FABRIQUE DE PARIS” is stamped into a lozenge on thebackplate.  This was a decree brought into being by the BritishGovernment circa 1887, when French clocks made for the British market had to have their city, or country of manufacture stamped assuch.  Plus, the dial has Roman lettering, so it is safe to assume that this clock was made for the British market circa 1890, when Edwardian influence began to supersede Victorian tastes.

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The movement is housed in a gilded Corniche case, which was in quite a “tired” condition when the clock was acquired. There are some signed of gilding wear (even after cleaning), but not sufficient to warrant a complete re-gilding.

The dial plate is of the classic “white enamel-on-copper”construction.  The Roman numerals are in excellent condition, as arethe chapter ring and the blued steel “spade and poker” style hands. The clock’s appearance is well-balanced and aesthetically pleasing.

The movement is that of the grand sonnerie family.  The platform is a silvered off-set ratchet style.  As is often the case, the motion works on the movement’s front plate are made of steel.  The going train’s winding barrel is supported by a working “stop work” – see later.

As this is a Grande sonnerie clock, the strike barrel is larger than the going train’s barrel, as when the clock runs in Grande Sonnerie mode, the strike side will run every 15 minutes and has two hammers to drive, so uses more power than the going train.  The winding arbors are not worn, which leads one to believe that the clock has not had an excessive amount of use during its life and hasbeen treated with respect. The clock comes with a modern and correctly fitting double-ended key.

As this is a Grande Sonnerie carriage clock, it has two gongs and two hammers.  The reasons are explained in the following four paragraphs.

There is a lever to the underside of the clock which is used to selectin which mode the clock will operate:

Grand Sonnerie; – the clock will strike the current hour at each quarter, followed by quarter striking(s) of “ting-tang”.  For example, at 6:30, the clock will strike six times on the hour gong, followed by “ting–tang, ting–tang”, with each “ting–tang” representing the quarters passed since the last hour.  So at 6:45, the strike sequence will be the same as it was for 6:30, except there will be three “ting-tangs” following the current hour strike.

Petite Sonnerie – this is very similar to the Grande Sonnerie mode, where only the quarter “ting-tangs” will strike on each quarter.  The clock will strike the current hour on the hour.

Silence– as this suggests, no strikes occur at any time and the clock runs as a timepiece only.

The repeat button on the clock’s top – this will strike the currenthour and the quarters passed whenever it is pressed, regardless of the position of the selection lever.

This particular clock has very good sounding gongs, being very reminiscent of French village church bells, which is what they were intended to sound like..

The movement… was soaked in petrol (other than the platform), to loosen all the pivots before being carefully dismantled to component level.  The following procedures were then carried out:

The escapement platform… is the clock’s “heartbeat”.  It is themost singularly important, yet delicate assembly.  It manages the power generated by the mainspring through the going train – i.e., it controls the clock’s timekeeping. This silvered platform is an off-setratchet lever type.

The following procedures were carried out:

Once timed and adjusted, the platform produces an even beat, a positive action, with the hairspring “breathing” correctly within theindex (or boot).

The stop work… these devices are often fitted to the going train’s barrel and sometimes to the strike and rarely, the alarm barrel also.  In this instance, they are fitted to the going train’s barrel only.  The reason for the stop work is two-fold:

The faceplate, dial and hands… are all in excellent condition, with the classic white enamel-on-copper face, chapter ring andRoman numerals having no cracks, hairlines or missing enamel. The face was cleaned in a mild cleansing agent, rinsed and heater dried.  The blued steel “spade and poker” hands are also in excellent condition.

The movement, dial, false plate and hands were re-assembled and the movement powered while the case was being overhauled and re-gilded.

The case… is gilded over brass and in the Corniche style. Fortunately, there are no dents or “dings” on the case.  The gilding is certainly the original fired gilding (mercury-based), as there is a visual difference between fired gilding and modern electrolytic gilding.  There are some areas of gilding wear, but insufficient to warrant re-gilding and nothing more than one can expect for a clockof this age.

The case was dismantled to component level.

Each case component (excluding the carry handle) is stamped “40”,showing the case itself to be an original unit.  The following procedures were carried out:

The door closes correctly – another indication of the case’s originality, quality, care and lack of trauma.  

As the case has been cleaned and waxed, it will not need any furthercare other than careful dusting – microfibre cloths are excellent for this.  Under no circumstances should any silicon-based cleaningfluids or metal polishes come anywhere near the case.

Testing… 

was carried out once the movement was reinstalled into its case and powered.  It has now been run for two months without any issues and keeping excellent time.

Please note: the timing regulator arm is very close to the centre of its operational arc, which is where it should be after a completeoverhaul and regulation.

Conclusion

This excellent quality Richard & Co. antique French gildedCorniche cased Grand Sonnerie carriage clock, being somewherearound 130 years old, is now in excellent condition throughout and is a completely original clock.

It has been completely and professionally overhauled, including the case, which has brought it back to being in beautiful condition.

It should be serviced every five to ten years by a clockmaker to ensure optimum performance, as this is the working life of quality clock/watch oil.