Carriage Clocks
What is a Carriage Clock?
Carriage clocks were, as the name suggests, originally designed as portable
timepieces in the days before watches were commonly available to buy. The typical carriage clock
consists of a plain rectangular body with a handle on the top. Standard height was around
6 in (about 15 cm).The majority of antique carriage clocks were made in France in the latter half of the 19th century. The French term for them was "pendule de voyage". These clocks usually had an eight day movement and were based around either an anchor or a cylinder escapement. Some carriage clocks were made in England, however these were far fewer in number and tended to be top of the range models by the best horologists of the time. Because of this, English carriage clocks from the period often fetch good prices on the market.
The functionality of the carriage clock varied considerably. Most simply had a single dial with hours and minutes. Some also had secondary, subsidiary dials showing the seconds or the days of the week.
Styles
There were four main styles of carriage clock. The corniche was one of the most common, being a fairly plain design with corner feet.The gorge style was more up market and tended to be used for the higher quality clocks. This style tended to be more intricate in design, often with grooved angles and a five ribbed handle.
Less expensive versions were the obis (corniche) and the cannalee (gorge).
Striking
The cheapest carriage clocks did not strike at all. More up-market models would chime the hours, some also marked the half hour with a single chime. A few would indicate the quarter hours - one strike for the first quarter, two for the half hour, three for three quarters.A few carriage clocks had a "repeat" button. Pressing this caused the clock to repeat the last hourly chimes. More expensive models (grande sonnerie) would also repeat the last quarter hour chime. This could be useful at night when it was impossible to read the dial - but, presumably, would not have endeared one to the other occupants of the carriage!
The popularity of the carriage clock waned with the increasing availabilty of affordable watches for ordinary people to buy. Production almost entirely ceased following World War I. However they are making something of a a comeback on the market today, albeit often mass produced - designed and sold more for ornamental than practical purposes. There are a large amount of styles available to buy, both replicas of antiques and contemporary designs.