An Hermès silver plated bronze, eight day desk or wall clock incorporated into the body of a ship's anchor. This beautifully made clock has been directly influenced by a classic ship's anchor design. Every detail is true to actual form featuring the bill, shank, throat, arm and stock. The quality is as one comes to expect from Hermès from this period. The clock is thick and fairly heavy, but by no means cumbersome and would suit to sit on a desk of bedside table. Each piece of the anchor is stamped with its unique part number, all fitting together perfectly.
Another wonderful, and totally original, detail to the clock is that the back end of the stock can be unscrewed from the center. This then allows the bale at the top of the anchor to used to hang the clock on the wall and lay flat. The simple reason behind this is that it allows the clock to leave a desk and be hung on a wall once the boat leaves port to prevent it from sliding around in rough seas. A beautiful and wonderfully considered detail. It was design to be used on a boat!
The dial on this clock is known as a ‘sector dial’. It is made very much the same way that would be found on watches such as the Patek Philippe ref. 130, or famous and highly collectable wrist watches such as the Longines from this period, the 1930/40's. The open six and nine font use is also very in-keeping with these watch dials from this time, and are highly collectible. The dial is also painted in the same way with a raised enamel on all the Arabic numbers, minute track, hour markers and original signature. The dial is all original, has not been reprinted and is free of any damage. Quite rare for a piece of this time and for one that is not as well sealed as many of its wrist contemporaries.
The clock itself is powered by Pontifa-Audoine decorated Landeron caliber 24, fifteen jewel, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, self compensating flat balance spring, index regulator movement. This movement was used among a number of very rare, and limited production clocks by Hermès to help bring their own decorative creations to life. The development of complicated and quality in-house watch and clock movements is incredibly time consuming and costly, so this practice of working with haute horology specialists to provide calibers for more dedicated luxury fashion and jewellery houses was common place.
The condition overall is excellent. There is light surface wear on parts of the anchor, as one would come to expect from a piece that is coming up to being nearly one hundred years of age. However, there are no serious scratches or dents. The movement is keeping excellent time, and is in superb condition throughout.
This is a very rare chance to own a piece of history. These pieces come up for sale very infrequently, and when they have in the past they are not in as good a condition as this example! We have never handled another. Made in France and Switzerland Circa late 1930’s.
