Antique Mantle Clocks
Nick Besson

Defined Tag: Antique Clocks.

I know of a friend with an old antique mantle clock that he keeps above his fireplace. He inherited it from his grandfather, and he believes it is 150 years old. It is old handcrafted clock made by one of the original town clock makers, and the funny thing is, it still runs like new.

That's the beauty of these old clocks. Mantle clocks are a trimmed down version of grandfather clocks, and originally served to keep time in many households, a couple of hundred years ago. Although they were phased out when the quartz clock came along, many households still keep these clocks and have no intention of disposing of them. Not only are they reliable, but they usually have unique ornate designs that belonged only to certain makers.

Antique mantle clocks are portable, and driven by weights. As the successor to the grandfather clock, they are lightweight, and can be placed anywhere in the house, and therefore they are sometimes called shelf clocks.

They were invented around 1750 in France, but quickly spread around the world. An inbuilt system of weights inside the clock control its time and chime. After 1840, springs were introduced into these clocks, and they became spring driven. The downside to springs was that it required regular rewinding; if not rewound, the clock would slowly fall behind in time.

They are usually constructed of wood, metal, and may have an external porcelain finish.One of the commonest types of antique mantle clocks is the hump back mantle clock. This clock has a curved form (like a hump) and nice wooden panels and carvings on the exterior.

The usual price range for antique mantle clocks is usually cheaper than large grandfather clocks, but that also means that demand is quite high among old clock collectors. Rare designs of the 19th century may cost more than $1000 though. But if you're just looking for a small early twentieth century mantle clock, $100-200 can get you a decent buy. Also, some mantle clocks from Asia could be an exotic choice in place of the usual Continental designs.

Nick Besson is an antique lover who likes researching and collecting antiques. He has been collecting antiques for a decade now, and also writes articles on antiques for websites.