Help ID Grand Sonnerie Clock

[Ken Knox]

This is one of my recient acqusitions. It has a grand sonnerie movement with a repeater mechanism. There is no makers mark anywhere on the movement or case. The movement mounting system might provide a clue. It uses 4 keyholes on the back plate that slides over pegs on the back of the case. The case measures 54 inches tall and 18 inches wide. I rebuilt the movement and it now runs perfectly. Any information as to age, origin and maker will be greatly appreciated.
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Thanks,

Ken

 

[Richard T.]

Hi Ken,

Nice clock. I don't think the "bayonet" mount of this movement will be of much help in identifying your clock. If I remember correctly many makers used this , Becker, Resch, Suchy just to name three.

I would be interested in hearing any thoughts you may have after you have done the movement. Problems, difficulties, bushings (if any) and anything else that you want to share.

Best,

Richard T.

 

[Ken Knox]

Thanks Richard,

At first the movement seemed a bit intimidating as a previous "repair person" tried to make adjustments by bending things. I have never seen a movement like this before so I basically just unbent things back to thier original positions. Several of the springs were on wrong also making the levers work backwards in some cases. Somehow I figured it out though. Another problem was I had never heard a clock like this before so I didnt know what to expect. fortunatly it didnt need bushed or any major work. I just polished everything and reassembled it and gave it a try and it worked. The springs need to be perfectly adjusted for tension or it wont work I found out. Sincronising the striking mechanisms wasnt as difficult as I was expecting. It has been running for 24 hours now and hasnt malfuntioned yet. The repeater mechanism is interesting. theres a string that goes through a hole on the side of the case that when pulled it activates the mechanism. Would this be considered to be a "blind mans" clock?

 

[Richard T.]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, this is commonly called a "blind man's " clock. Sometimes if I am awake at night I find myself listening for the one that I have (Carl Suchy, Vienna) and of course when it strikes I know what time it is.

Best,

Richard T.

 

[Ken Knox]

This one is going to take some getting use to. some of my clocks have the westminster chimes every quarter hour and this one sounds like a wesminster chime gone bad. I need to adjust the hammers so one is lighter than the other as they sound very close right now.

Ken

 

[Richard T.]

These clocks have two different gongs (as you know) and they should be entirely different in the way that they sound. I have no problem hearing the difference even at a distance of 25 feet and the gongs are rather soft in sound.

Best,

Richard T.

 

[jmclaugh]

Nice clock, my understanding is from around the 1880s many of the dials were metal as opposed to enamel and were etched, engraved or embossed to match the weights and bob. HTH.

 

[Ken Knox]

Thanks for the information on the clock.

I adjusted the hammers and now I can hear a distinct difference between the 2 gongs. One question though. The repeater string that hangs on the outside right hand side of the clock. Should there be something tied to the end like a bead? As it is now there is nothing and it seems unfinished

Ken

 

[jmclaugh]

I have never come across one of these that is a repeater but on bracket clocks they normally have a bead.

 

[Kim St.Dennis Sr.]

What you have there is a very nice Austrian "Vienna Regulator" circa 1880's to 1900. Unfortunately without a name on the dial you will never know who made the clock. Austrian clockmakers rarely signed their movements.
The movement is very high grade, it may have come out of an early case. It was not unusual to have an old clock recased to fit the new fashions in Austria.
The dial and weights is how we can date the clock, but the hands do not look original. The hand are definitely factory made, most likely German and added later.

 

[Travis]

One clue to the maker of your clock is that the hands look like Gustav Becker hands. I have noticed that in almost all cases, Gustav Becker two and three weight clocks will fit on the same hanger, so if you have (or know someone who has) a marked GB two or three wieght Vienna Regulator, you can see if your movement fits on the GB hanger. The dial also looks like a GB, but many makers used similar designs. I am posting two pictures of GB grand sonnerie Vienna regulators. The first dial is original as it was made. The other dial started life like the first, but the silvered part has been polished away. Your dial may have suffered similarly. Note the similarity of your hands with those of the second picture.

 

[Richard T.]

We need confirmation from John Hubby but I thought most if not all GB's were marked in one way or another....

Best,

Richard T.