Time Vectors

Significance A typical French? style Carriage Clock and Case, time only, Unsigned, c1800s. Top mounted balance wheel. A ornate clock to be used domestically, but with a substantial and well-used, carry case. The original carriage clocks were an important way of synchronising time between different places. In the time of only town clocks, a carriage clock could be taken in a carriage from one town to another to synchronise the time between the two locations. For more domestic purposes, in the 1800s, accurate clocks were expensive and an accurate carriage-style clock could be carried around a large house rather than having multiple clocks. Similarly, clocks could be used by the military to maintain correct time while moving about, before accurate watches, done with an officer's clock. Description A typical French-style carriage clock with a gilded brass and beveled glass case and a balance-wheel, time-only movement. Only the balance wheel has jewels and there is no marking...

Significance A "Lord King" World Time, balance-wheel, battery novelty clock Japan c1970 with jet aircraft second-hand. I bought it as a novelty clock, but it is also an example of electromechanical clocks c1970, in the few years before quartz clocks dominated. The Japanese movement is predominately plastic, including the gears, presumably to reduce costs; an ongoing theme in manufacturing. The assembly of the clock would be similar to any mechanical clock, requiring nimble fingers. The clock has a Jumbo jet aircraft on a round plastic disc as its second hand. The outer dial shows world time against the current local time of the clock. The clock is characteristic of the new jet age of the 1970s with the introduction of Jumbo jets in the late 1960s. Why collect these? My collecting interest is clock technology and clock industry history... and any cute clock. This clock is nearly 50 years old and characteristic of electromechanical clocks just before quartz clocks domin...

Significance A Fusee Lenzkirch Wall Clock, 1 Million series 21 movement, late 1890s. Lenzkirch used mass-production to make high-quality clocks in the Black Forest region of Germany from 1860 to 1932. A fusee movement in the 1890s is unusual in the 1890s as steel springs had improved from the 1850s that were sufficiently accurate for most makers. However, a few quality makers continued with fusee as well as improved springs. Fusee were used in most marine chronometers until they became obsolete. Lenzkirch clocks have few maker's marks, but the "1 Million" above the serial number is characteristic, along with 21 for the movement series. Description A high quality 300 mm wall clock with a short pendulum inside the case with a fusee movement. The dial surround is solid timber. The movement frame is a solid brass sheet. Local pickup through online Gumtree classifieds. Notes http://antique-clock.com/about/lenzkirch http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteRefere...

Significance Mass-produced American figurine clock. Open escapement movement with pendulum inside case. All cast metal. "Industry", a seated woman, is one of a series. c 1894. Description First clock I bought. Via Gumtree the local online classifieds. Notes http://www.antiqueansoniaclocks.com/Ansonia-Model-0390.php http://www.antiqueansoniaclocks.com/default.php Very good resource for all Ansonia clocks. Not mine but fully restored.

Significance The Seiko QC-M1 Quartz Marine Master Clock Chronometer was one of the first quartz marine chronometers developed in the late 1960s. Along with over aids to navigation, including radio, it saw the end to mechanical marine chronometers in the 1970s. Made from 1968-74, the QC-M1 would have been one of the first commercial quality quartz clocks. The QC-M1 used the newly available integrated circuits (IC) for digital frequency division from the quartz crystal and equally new power transistors to drive the electromechanical master clock and slave clock. The QC-M1 would have been very expensive in its day. The Junghans Astro Chron table clock was the first domestic clock made from 1967. It used discrete transistors rather than ICs presumably due to cost. Description The QC-M1 was like no marine master clock before it and sets a new configuration for the class. It is housed in a steel box designed to hang on the wall of the ship's bridge. The clock can be powered ...

Significance A Seiko clock using a tuning fork and mechanical movement, powered by a battery and single transistor drive. Made in Japan in the 1960s to early 70s in the brief period after transistors became available and before they were replaced by quartz clocks. Description The Seiko Vibron VBZ-208 is an electronic-mechanical, 6-jewel clock that uses a 150 Hz vibration, H-shaped, double-ended tuning fork. The tuning fork element was developed by Seiko to be virtually immune to changes in temperature being made of a special alloy. A single transistor switch drives a solenoid to magnetically excite the tuning fork. The other end of the tuning fork has two magnets, along with a rotating disk that constitutes a synchronous motor that then drives the gears set to the hands. The movement offers extremely high timekeeping precision. The clock is big and heavy, around 2 kg, indicating it was probably quite expensive when new. The face is metal rather than plas...

GPS Time and frequency reference: GPS Disciplined Oscillators Relative Accuracy of Various Frequency References Reference     Modification                  Accuracy Range Crystal                                                  1 to 100 ppm Crystal         TCXO                            ~ 0.1 ppm Crystal         Ovenized OXCO             0.001 - 0.1 ppm Crystal         Double Oven                   ~ 50 ppt (parts per trillion) Crystal         GPS supervised OXCO  ~ 5 ppt Rubidium              ...

Significance A quartz tide clock, probably from China, circa 1990. The movement uses lunar cycles, not solar cycles, with a period of 12 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds. There is only one hand showing the tide time. The movement is probably common between solar and lunar clocks with just the crystal frequency changed. Description A wood desk clock. Quartz tide clock. Movement faulty but replaced. Quartz clocks are electronic-mechanical. An integrated circuit uses a quartz crystal to generate about a 1 Hz electrical pulse that drives a solenoid, like an impulse slave clock. The little plastic gears may wear out or stop from dirty lubrication, like other mechanical movements. Source Local Op-shop. 24 hours and 50.5 12 25 25 The quartz movement. The silver cylinder is the quartz crystal that oscillates. The black dob on the circuit board is the integrated circuit that drives the crystal and produces a 1 Hz pulse for the solenoid. The gears can be seen to drive the ...

Significance A wall clock by the Hamburg American Clock Company, Germany, circa 1900. HACC was established to make clocks in Germany using the American mass production systems, as happened in Switzerland and Japan. HACC was established in about 1890 by a member of the Junghans family. It was merged with Junghans in 1930. Description A wall clock using an American style brass mechanical movement, with a pendulum and strike. Made in Germany circa 1900. Some very nice lead lighting. The case has been fully restored to as-new, but the dial is original and in poor condition. I will probably get a new dial to match the case restoration. Certainly a case of restoration de-valuing a timepiece. Source Ebay, local pick up in Gold Coast, Australia. Probably a private import. Notes https://pineknollclockshop.blogspot.com/2016/02/hamburg-american-clock-company-brief.html

Significance Pendulum master clocks were an accurate central time reference for large organisations, factories, government, railways, telephone companies and the like. The master clock generates electrical impulses to drive slave clocks so that all show the same time. Master clocks use a large pendulum to keep accurate time, around a few seconds a week. The pendulum is maintained by electromagnets in my clock, but some had mechanical movements with a spring or weight which was rewound electrically. Master clocks were often battery-backed. Master clocks were used for time standards in power stations. The frequency of the mains is kept very accurate over the longer term to allow simple synchronous clocks to be used. These master clocks have two faces, the accurate master clock time and the varying synchronous clock time. Any difference is eliminated by changing the generator speed slightly when under lighter loads. Pendulum master clocks were used from the early 1900s but were repl...

Why Time Vectors? My online clock collection. Timepieces rather than clocks? Online collection Mechanical Clocks Eli Terry patent wood-works, mass-produced mantle clock c1830 John Parkes and Son Marine Chronometer, Liverpool, England 1917 Shipwrecked! Hamilton Model 22 marine chronometer 1942 Unsigned French carriage clock and case, Ansonia "Industry" Figurine Mantel Clock 1890s Small Anniversery Clock New Haven Octanganal drop wall clock late 1880s Seikoshu Japan Octanganal drop wall clock late 1880s, early 1990s Hamberg American Clock Company Germany Octanganal drop wall clock late 1880s Primative French brass mantel Clock New Haven Art Nouvo Figurine Mantel Clock Gilbert Art Nouvo Qupid Figurine Clock Mechanical Pocket Watches Australian Army Omega pocket watch WWII chronometers 1942 Elgin Railroad pocket watch movement 1880s Longines Russian Empire Railroad pocket Watch 1880s English Fusee pocket watch movement early 1800s Electromechan...

Significance Modern quartz clocks can be cute too! A novelty clock. Suko made a number of similar designs using the same principal. Description A novel design. Italian I think. The dial rotates around the spindle with the time indicated at the spindle. I think the white "hands" have been added as they are not on other clocks. A year 2000 clock is available but I have yet to get one. Source Ebay, Melbourne, Australia.