LOVELY MEDIUM SIZED GILT-BRASS FRENCH CARRIAGE CLOCK by FARRET, c. 1870.

Height:

12 cm handle down

Maker:

Farret Paris

Price:

£3150

Case

The clock has a gilt-brass case which is a variation on the gorge case in that the top and bottom are sculpted, which adds to its elegance. It has bevelled glass windows on all sides so that the movement is almost entirely visible. The gilt brass platform escapement can be seen through a large rectangular window in the top. The clock is surmounted by a typically shaped carrying handle. At the back is a door giving access to the winding arbors.

Movement

The high-quality spring-driven eight-day movement is constructed between plates. It consists of going and striking trains, as well as alarm. The going train has an English lever escapement with hairspring balance and regulation, all mounted on a gilt brass platform. It can be adjusted by a regulator pin which can be seen through the window in the top and is accessible through the back door. The striking indicates the hour fully and the half hours with a single stroke on a bell. In addition, there is a repeat button on the front, with which the hour last struck can be repeated at will. The backplate is stamped FARRET A PARIS in an oval.

Dial

The white enamel dial has a Roman chapter ring with five-minute and minute divisions. The time is indicated by a pair of finely cut blued-steel Breguet hands. The dial is signed in very small capital letters as follows:

FARRET
PARIS

Below is a subsidiary Arabic alarm dial with a small blued-steel hand, which can be set at the back.

The maker

Farret et Cie were established in the rue Chapon in Paris in the period 1840-1880. The company developed new escapements and introduced improvement to time keeping for the railways.

Literature: Tardy, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, Paris, 1971, p.221

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