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TYRSSg4o
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Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 34
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Location: England
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Supra Baby Skytop Shoe Carriage Clocks - What Are |
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riage clocks are very distinctive and have about them a rather regal appearance. Because passengers did not ordinarily have wristwatches, it is a small sized clock that was designed specifically to be used in a carriage in the 19th century following the discovery of the balance spring in 1675, which enabled portable timepieces as pendulums were no longer needed. Carriage clocks were used until the 1860s when the need for them waned as more people carried their own timepieces.
For the most part, carriage clocks are crafted from highly polished brass or other similar metals and on occasions, even from pure gold. While the average size is 5 1/2 inches high by 5 inches wide, many manufacturers designed far larger ones as well. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of these distinct timepieces,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], is that they are practically all housed within a casing, often completely hidden from view, requiring you to actually open the casing in order to see the time. Unlike the modern carriage clocks of today, where the casing is designed essentially for decorative reasons, the old timepieces were housed in a casing in order to protect the glass face as well as offer protection from the natural elements.
It's not uncommon for carriage clocks to have beautiful scenes painted on the face but the early French ones in particular, are renowned for the beauty of the scenes and in some cases, even porcelain was used for the face itself. Of course, these high-end clocks would have graced the homes of the wealthy or at the very least,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a special place in the carriage.
Most carriage clocks chime on the hour,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and a few are made to play various tunes signaling the hour and some even the quarter hour. Some exhibit large bells on the outside of the clock that will ring heralding half hour or hour-long passages of time.
Because the older carriage clocks have such attractive spring-loaded mechanisms some companies make a cut away in the housing so that the works may be admired.
Nowadays, those decorative carriage clocks which so many people have on the mantle rely on quartz movement and are powered by batteries instead.
Thanks to the internet, shopping for a carriage clock couldn't be easier. Unlike before, when you would have had to have spent ages trawling through shops, now you can go online and choose to shop from anywhere in the world. In some cases, the manufacturers will even sell to you directly or if you're in search of something older,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], there are plenty of online auctions taking place all the time.
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Tue 7:13, 19 Apr 2011 |
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