Pendulum Clocks

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Pendulum Clocks

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YOUR GUIDE TO THE MOST STRIKING PENDULUM CLOCKS

While some might be prone to calling pendulum clocks “ticking time bombs”—which is to say, relics with rapidly evaporating shelf-lifes—vintage pendulum clocks are actually proving to have more staying power than one might think. Consisting of a variety of antique wall clocks possessing pendulum timekeeping mechanisms, pendulum clocks superseded far more primitive time trackers like the hourglass and the sundial. While timepieces for the sake of timekeeping may have circulated out of relevance, a tall pendulum clock can still be an alluring asset in a room of less vertically-inclined furniture.

Generally, pendulum clocks are the epitome of distinguished design, falling into the now-heirloom style categories that ruled the 18th and 19th centuries, including Rococo, Neoclassical, Chippendale, and Gustavian. The mid 20th century also saw a redux of the pendulum clock, with designers best known for their tables and chairs, trying their hand at the pendulum clock trend. George Nelson and Arthur Umanoff were both Mid-Century Modernists who designed striking modern pendulum clocks.

When it comes to finding a befitting location for your pendulum clock, first consider those abbreviated walls that dog nearly every home. In instances where even a console or even demilune table presents too much girth, a slender pendulum clock can wind up a win. To prevent your wall clock with pendulum from skewing too antiquated-looking, consider juxtaposing a traditional model with more modern surrounds. This can be a Georgian clock plunked opposite an acrylic dining set, or a Neoclassical grandfather clock layered in front of a convivial Baroque wallpaper in a melange of eye-catching hues.

The History of the Pendulum Clock

Often prematurely credited to Galileo, the pendulum clock was actually invented in 1656 by Christiaan Huygens a Dutch physicist and inventor. In 1637, Galileo put much of the framework for the pendulum clock into motion when he discovered that a pendulum, or a long, swinging rod, always takes the same amount of time to complete a full swing. Deducting that a pendulum that took one second to carry out a swing could be rigged to a weight of some sort which would activate upon sixty swings, Galileo hypothesized about the first pendulum clock.

As it would turn out, pendulum clocks would need a bit more finessing to get ticking. Floor and wall clocks with pendulums must be perfectly level and stationary to avoid clipping or extending the pendulum swing, thereby creating inaccuracies. To prevent effects on the pendulum, Huygens implemented internal mechanisms that worked to keep the pendulum stable at all times. As might be expected, crafting traditional wall clocks with pendulums was an incredibly arduous process that required the utmost care. Until clock part factories took hold, all pendulum clocks were handmade. Richly ornamented pendulum clocks were a point of pride for most who owned them, and they soon became known as a status symbol of the wealthy.