An unusual Franche Comté quarter-striking carriage clock with double hour strike and alarm

SANTIAGO LACROIX. MID 19TH CENTURY

Details
An unusual Franche Comté quarter-striking carriage clock with double hour strike and alarm
santiago lacroix. mid 19th century
The foliate cast multi piece case with hinged front door, entwined serpent handle, the white enamel Roman dial signed SAN.go LACROIX, blued moon hands, with alarm ring below, the twin barrel movement with elaborately engraved gilt platform to the balance with plain rim and lever escapement, pull wind alarm via gilt-metal chain with bell-shaped toggle, rack-work planted on the backplate, strike/alarm on two bells to the base
6¾in. (17cm.) high

Lot Essay

This clock has the additional feature of striking each hour twice. It does so on the hour and then two minutes later, giving someone who missed the time on the first occasion the opportunity to hear it on the second. This is common on Continental church clocks but not on carriage clocks. Charles Allix writes that it would not be an unusual feature to be found on a clock made near Morez. See Carriage Clocks, Antique Collectors' Club 1974, p.153. External rack-work and pull-wind alarms are typical features of Franche Comté clocks of this period.

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