Wall Clocks
We take wall clocks for granted today, most Western houses have at least one. They're usually battery driven and highly accurate - we forget what a miracle of technology they really are.
Unlike free-standing clocks, old mechanical wall clocks needed a small mechanism that still kept accurate time. Very often a mechanism originated in a larger clock and was later incorporated into a wall mounted version. Early mechanical designs varied from weight driven to wind up, from fusee to regulator.
Some of the most well known traditional wall clocks are the Vienna regulator clocks.
Vienna Regulator Wall Clocks
The mechanical regulator wall clock is powered by a weight (or multiple weights) and uses a pendulum to keep time.The name Vienna Regulator comes from Vienna, Austria where there was a thriving industry producing them from the late 18th century through to the early 20th. The first were produced around 1780 and produced dried up around 1930.
Although each craftsman had his own unique style, certain designs became popular during certain periods. The early Laterndluhr resembled a coach lamp, there was the suitably sinuous Serpentine and the ornate Alt Deutsch.
Original antique Vienna regulators obviously appeal to collectors today. You can also buy a variety
of modern reproductions
should these be more suited to your budget. It it perhaps the ultimate irony that you can
even buy battery driven wall clocks that electrically drive a pendulum to simulate an
original regulator!