AR Guilmet

An exceptionally rare late 19th century wall mounted mystery clock by the noted maker A.R. Guilmet. In this version the statue is replaced with a beveled glass that is frosted and etched and fitted to a frame that receives impulse from the movement below.

The silvered and gilt-bronze case is composed of two elongated multi-piece tubular frames each adorned with decorative mounts. While the outer frame is structural, the inner oscillates and is an integral part of the timekeeping. It is stamped ‘3228’ on the hanger and ‘1’ in multiple places.

The white porcelain dial has Roman numerals for the hours and steel-cut spade hands.

The backside is numbered ‘3074’ in ink.

The eight-day time and strike movement has Guilmet’s detent escapement and is stamped on the backplate ‘GLT, SDGD, Brevete, 3074’.

Suspended from the beveled glass panel is a multi-piece Guilmet pendulum with a split beveled glass bob.

In 1874  A. R. Guilmet was granted a certificate of addition for his 1867 patent. The pendulum was now suspended from a glass plate and impulsed in the same way as the statue clocks.

We are aware of 2 examples of this model. To see the other example we owned see: GLT Wall Clock.

For a video of it running see: Guilmet Mystery Clock.

For additional information on Guilmet see: ‘Mystery, Novelty and Fantasy Clocks’ by Roberts, Chapter 21, pg.241.

For copies of his patents including the 1874 Certificate of Addition see: Roberts, Appendix 2, pg. 275.

For a very rare mantle clock version incorporating the pendulum suspended from a plate glass see: Sothebys, Meraux Collection, 1993, lot 143.