When a watch begins, the two hammers struck the bell in pairs four times. The first quarter starts at noon, the next one at 4 pm, etc. (Image ID170: All rights reserved, Bordloub)Ī Ships Bell Clock, like this German Schatz from the 1950s, is geared to ring quarters on a ship, that is, the four hours of watch. With the advent of battery clocks, there are several anniversary clock imitations on the market that can no longer be called 400 days since they work as long as the battery charge allows. The Americans later named it “ Birthday Clock” because this type of clock was offered for a birthday, and it worked until the next birthday. The pendulum of this clock is usually made up of four spheres that rotate and return very slowly around an axis. It was mostly sold under a glass or plastic globe or in a glass lantern. Very popular in the late 1940s and 1950s, like this German Kundo from 1950s, the Anniversary clock has a mouvement that allows continuous operation for 400 days, or even 1,000 days.

In Germany, around 1879, Anton Harder developed a 400-day twist clock. In 1855, Crane obtained another patent for a multi-weight clock. The commercialization took place in small quantities around 1845 in New York by J. Crane, also obtained patents in 18 for a twisted clock of 8, 30 or 365 days of operation. In 1793, an Englishman, Robert Leslie, was granted a patent for a twisted clock. Moving the hands in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction while the automatic chime sequencing is in operation could damage the chime mechanism.The pendulum is called torsion or “twisting” when its very heavy bob suspended from a wire is able to undergo a long period of vibration with minimal energy. The chime selection lever should not be in the “Auto” position when moving the hands on a clock with Automatic Chime Sequencing. When it completes all of the melodies on that grandfather clock, it will start over again. Continue a quarter-hour at a time until the proper time has been reached and allow the chimes to play at each quarter-hour.ĬAUTION ON MOVEMENTS WITH AUTOMATIC CHIME SEQUENCING:Īutomatic Chime Sequencing is a feature found on the most expensive clocks that will play one melody (ie: Westminster) on a given hour, the automatically change to the next melody (ie: Whittington) on the next hour. If you hear the click…stop and let the chime complete its sequence before advancing to the next quarter-hour. You may also move the minute hand clockwise, but you probably hear a “single-click” sound at each quarter-hour point. If after setting the Grandfather Clock on time, it does not chime properly, permit it to operate for 2 hours to correct itself. Most movements have a self-correcting feature that synchronizes the chimes with the time. The hour hand will move automatically when the minute hand is moved.īy moving the minute hand counter Clockwise it is not necessary to wait for the Grandfather Clock to chime as the minute hand passes each quarter-hour. DO NOT MOVE THE HOUR HAND WHEN SETTING THE TIME. To set the time, move ONLY THE MINUTE HAND counter Clockwise (backward) until the hour and minute hand are at the correct time. You may move the minute hand Counter-Clockwise without stopping or move it Clockwise stopping at each 1/4 hour and letting the chime play before advancing to the next quarter-hour.

Setting the time on your grandfather clock.

1950s swing clock mini grandfather