French China Mantel Clock, ca. 1900
Watch
GUEST:
I know that my grandfather, my mother's father, gave it to her as a gift, I want to say maybe 15 years ago or so. He fixed clocks, and he was a jeweler. And he wanted to make sure that each of his five children had a really cool clock piece of some sort, and this is the one that my mom got. I know it's from France, that's about all I know. So... Yeah? Not much else.
APPRAISER:
But your plan is to keep it and own it and to pass it on to your daughter.
GUEST:
Yeah, now it's mine. Exactly.
APPRAISER:
So it's a family heirloom.
GUEST:
Yes, it is.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a beautiful one, and just as you say, it is from France. It's in the neighborhood of 1890, 1910 as far as its age is concerned.
GUEST:
Oh, wow, okay.
APPRAISER:
And there's a possibility it was once a part of a three-piece set. Very often, the French would create what they call a garniture.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And there would be a decorative urn-like object on either side, strictly for garnishing the clock.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's a china clock, and it has a very Louis XV style to it. It's a vague Rococo motif, if you want to call it that. It even includes the famous fleur-de-lis here at the very top, so that makes it very French. And I want to point out this beautiful gold work that's on the side here. This is all applied gold work that was done after the blue was added, and that was done by an artist, and very painstakingly built up. So that's a wonderful feature to it. But the main feature to this clock is the artwork in the very center. And the brush that was used to put those little tiny brushstrokes in there, you can barely see. I mean, it's a very painstaking process. And it's unusual, but in this case, the artist was allowed to sign it, which is really cool. They allowed that person to get recognition for their hours of work. The clock is an eight-day clock. They tell good time. The dial is an enamel dial. And these hands are the original hands. This also reflects a fleur-de-lis on the hour hand. A nice bezel that has a beveled glass in the center. And it's just an amazing clock. You're very wise to remove the pendulum from the clock, because it's hooked up to one of the more fragile portions of the clock, called the escapement. So when a clock comes in with this thing banging around inside, it is not good. I would estimate the value of a clock like this to be, retail, between $1,200 and $1,500.
GUEST:
Nice, we like that. Good. It's beautiful.
APPRAISER:
Thank you very much for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Thank you so much, Dean, for all the info. This is great.
Appraisal Details
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