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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Domestic

Comtoise Clocks (Pendulum Wall Clocks)

Partially verified

Weight-driven French wall or shelf clocks originating in the Franche-Comté region, characterised by a distinctive visible pendulum bob (often brass and ornately shaped) and a repeating strike.

Movement & mechanism

  • Weight-driven, typically with a repeat-strike function sounding the previous hour a few minutes after the main strike
  • Verge or later anchor-type escapements across the type's long production history
  • Iron-framed movement, often visually plainer than the elaborate cast or repoussé pendulum bob and case crown

Identification

  • Large, ornate pierced or shaped brass pendulum bob is the clearest identifying feature
  • Decorative cast crown or headpiece often fitted above the dial
  • Repeat-strike function distinguishes it from most other wall clock traditions

Terminology

  • Répétition (repeat strike) — sounding the hour again a set number of minutes after striking, so it can be heard again if missed
  • Comtoise — after Franche-Comté, the clock's region of origin

Known variations

  • Morbier clock (a related, closely associated Franche-Comté form)
  • Repeat-strike Comtoise
  • Comtoise with painted enamel dial

Collecting notes

Comtoise clocks remain relatively affordable and plentiful compared with English longcase clocks of similar age, and are collected largely by pendulum and crown design as well as by regional case style.

Related photographs

Wall clock in the Chambord Castle
Wall clock in the Chambord Castle — Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Wooden wall clock with massive brass weights DSG5426-1 - 2020-04-25
Wooden wall clock with massive brass weights DSG5426-1 - 2020-04-25 — Franz van Duns, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.

Sources & references

  1. General French clock reference literature; detailed regional workshop attribution needs further research.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.