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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Specialist

Skeleton Clocks

Verified

Clocks with the front (and often rear) plates cut away and pierced so that the wheel train, escapement and striking work are visible, typically displayed under a glass dome.

Movement & mechanism

  • Pierced, fretted brass plates replacing the solid plates of a conventional movement
  • Fusee or going-barrel spring drive; some larger examples are weight-driven
  • Passing-strike or full striking trains are common in higher-grade examples, deliberately left visible

Identification

  • Fretted, decoratively pierced plates are the defining visual feature
  • Glass dome, when original, protects the exposed mechanism from dust
  • Architectural case designs (e.g. modelled on cathedral tracery) are common in English work

Terminology

  • Fret — the pierced, decorative openwork cut into the plates
  • Passing strike — a single blow struck each hour as the hand passes, as distinct from a full count strike

Known variations

  • Architectural skeleton clock
  • Passing-strike skeleton clock
  • Full-striking/chiming skeleton clock

Collecting notes

Skeleton clocks are collected primarily for the quality and intricacy of the piercing and for maker attribution; the glass dome, if original and undamaged, materially affects completeness and value.

Photographs

English Skeleton Clock by Smith & Sons
English Skeleton Clock by Smith & Sons — Rauantiques, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Great Wheel Skeleton Clock
Great Wheel Skeleton Clock — Rauantiques, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Clock, skeleton (AM 2583-1)
Clock, skeleton (AM 2583-1) — Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers

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