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lindo
·Recently a relative of my wife asked her about selling an old carriage clock. It had been in the family since new - we guessed from around 1880 - but was said to be no longer working. Its original leather travelling case was in excellent condition, with its original key, and the clock itself still had most of its gilt brass finish. It was a nice example of a good quality French-made clock, with a well-known Sydney retailer’s name on the dial.
As a long-time antiques collector my wife knows the Sydney auctions very well, so she undertook to take it to the most likely one to get a good price. She asked me to look it over first, just in case it could be put into working order.
I realised that she liked it, and thought it would make a nice Christmas present, so called the relative to see if she would allow me to buy it. I made a very fair offer - the top end of its likely sale price at a good auction – and she accepted it. She liked the idea that it would stay in the family.
I am no watchmaker, but it was easy to get it working again. The 8 day movement looked pristine, but the chime was out of synch with the hour hand. As I could not get to the front of the clock without taking the movement out of the case, I took it to my trusty watchmaker for servicing and adjustment.
He called me the next day. The movement had needed a little maintenance, and the chime was back in synch. He said it was keeping good time.
At home I set the time exactly by synchronising the minute hand with the seconds hand on my iPhone clock, and by sheer luck managed to get its hour chime within one second.
Here is the astonishing bit. After seven days the hour chime is still synchronised perfectly with the iPhone second hand. How good is that?
Now I wish I was not giving it away as a Christmas present (but my wife is worth it).
As a long-time antiques collector my wife knows the Sydney auctions very well, so she undertook to take it to the most likely one to get a good price. She asked me to look it over first, just in case it could be put into working order.
I realised that she liked it, and thought it would make a nice Christmas present, so called the relative to see if she would allow me to buy it. I made a very fair offer - the top end of its likely sale price at a good auction – and she accepted it. She liked the idea that it would stay in the family.
I am no watchmaker, but it was easy to get it working again. The 8 day movement looked pristine, but the chime was out of synch with the hour hand. As I could not get to the front of the clock without taking the movement out of the case, I took it to my trusty watchmaker for servicing and adjustment.
He called me the next day. The movement had needed a little maintenance, and the chime was back in synch. He said it was keeping good time.
At home I set the time exactly by synchronising the minute hand with the seconds hand on my iPhone clock, and by sheer luck managed to get its hour chime within one second.
Here is the astonishing bit. After seven days the hour chime is still synchronised perfectly with the iPhone second hand. How good is that?
Now I wish I was not giving it away as a Christmas present (but my wife is worth it).
