Antique 16" Mahogany Railway Station / School Round Wall Clock by West End Watch Co. (Chiming)

Object Description

This is a fine quality antique 16″ West End Watch Co. mahogany railway station chiming wall clock, circa 1920 – 1930, which has been lovingly restored to its former glory and is now in good working order.

Summary:
• Item: Railway / School Wall Clock
• West End Watch Co.
• Circa: 1920 – 1930
• 16” external diameter
• Quality double brass barrel spring mechanism
• Chiming / Striker mechanism
• Chimes on the ½ hour & full hour
• French polished mahogany case
• Ebony style finish
• Side viewing windows
• Black Roman numeral face
• Pendulum access door
• Brass bezel
• Elegant shaped hands
• Cream colour tin dial
• Winding key
• Detachable adjustable pendulum
• Restored & serviced
• 2 Year UK warranty included
• Free delivery to England, Wales & southern Scotland*
• Free 14-day UK returns policy

Description:
This is a fine quality antique 16″ West End Watch Co. mahogany station chiming / striker wall clock, which has been lovingly restored to its former glory and is now in good working order as can been seen from the photos.

This clock features a beautiful dark mahogany case, with a moulded brass bezel, a pendulum access door on the underside and a glass-viewing door on either side that allows you to view the mechanism whilst in operation. The mahogany case has been French polished to a dark ebony style colour. This clock features a “deep dish” case design which means that case is of better quality and is slightly deeper in depth than the 16” clocks. On the back of the clock is a bracket to attach the clock to the wall.

This clock houses a genuine and top-quality twin brass barrel spring driven chiming mechanism. The clock chimes once on the half hour and also every hour to the number of hours. The left-hand hole in the dial face is to wind up the clock movement and the right-hand hole is to wind up the chiming movement. This design gives you the option of either having the chiming mechanism enabled or disabled; allowing you to choose whether you want the chiming noise to be heard.

The movement has been restored and serviced and is now in good mechanical order, ensuring this clock is reliable and keeps good time. The pendulum length, which is attached to the mechanism by accessing the clock from the door below, can be adjusted to allow you to regulate the speed of the clock. The clock comes with a key, which is used to wind the mechanism through the centre of the face dial.

This clock face features a cream colour tin dial with black Roman numerals and elegant shaped hour and minute hand. A hinged solid brass bezel houses the glass face that protects the tin dial and face whilst in operation. The brass bezel opens on a right-hand hinge to allow you to adjust or set the time. There is a catch to the back of the clock that locks the brass bezel in place and stops it from accidentally swinging open.

The clock looks great in a variety of rooms from and also in either a traditional or contemporary setting. This truly is a very beautiful wall clock of classic styling and quality construction. It will become a member of the family after not too long! So, don’t miss out your chance to own a lovely clock.

Setting up the Clock:
The clock may require the pendulum to be adjusted once on the wall. The clock will only work if it is placed on a flat wall in a direct up-right position (not on a side angle). Detailed setup instructions will be included when the clock is delivered.

Dimensions:
External Diameter = 16″
Painted Dial Diameter = 12″
Depth = 5½”

Price:
The price for this item is £645, including free delivery to England, Wales & southern Scotland.*

Free UK Delivery*:
We offer free delivery to mainland England, Wales, and Southern Scotland (anywhere south of Stirling). *We do not offer free delivery to locations north of Stirling in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or any British Islands off the mainland; for example, the Isle of Man, Isle of White and Channel Islands. If you live in one of the areas where we do not offer free delivery, please contact us for a delivery quote before purchasing the item. Delivery will be made by our specialised antique furniture delivery service, or in some cases we will use a courier service for distant deliveries.

Delivery times are usually 1-4 weeks depending on location; we aim to deliver the majority of items within 2 weeks. All items are professionally packaged and fully insured in transit, therefore, we can assure you, your items will be securely protected in transit and arrive safely with you.

Once you have purchased an item, we will contact you by email and/or telephone and provide you with a provisional delivery date, in order for you to confirm if it is suitable for you. Once you have confirmed you can accept delivery on the provisional delivery date, we will book the delivery in with our shippers and it then becomes a confirmed delivery date.

We will also provide you with our shippers’ contact details, in case you need to contact the driver on the day of delivery. It’s helpful if you can provide us with both the landline and mobile telephone number, in case the driver cannot reach you on one of the numbers on the day of delivery, they can contact you on your alternative number.

In order to be able to offer you free delivery, it is based on a 1-man delivery only. For any large items that require 2 people to lift the item, we ask that you are available at the time of delivery to be able to give our shipper a lift off the van and into your house with the item. If you are not able to lift items yourself, we ask that you have someone on hand at the time of delivery to assist our shipper with lifting the item.

Free 14 Days UK Returns & Refunds:
A free 14-day “no quibble” returns policy (from the date you receive the item) is available if you are not happy with this item. We will collect the item free of charge from you (we do not charge a return fee / collection fee). You will be given a full refund as long as the item is returned in the same condition. We will collect returns using our own specialist furniture delivery company. We will not accept returns via a courier service (due to experience of damaged items in transit). This refund policy only applies to deliveries to the UK.

UK Buyer Payment:
For UK buyers, we accept cash on collection or delivery; cheque, credit card, BACS (free bank to bank transfer) or PayPal. Payment is requested within 5 days of the sale. Payment must be cleared before the items are collected or delivered.

International Buyers:
If you live outside the UK and you would like to purchase this item, please contact us before purchasing it, so that we can obtain an accurate shipping quote and delivery lead-time. The shipping quote provided is a global estimate only. The actual shipping cost will vary by country and postcode. Due to the distances and costs involved with shipping outside the UK, a returns policy is therefore not available for international buyers. Before placing your order(s) please make sure this is the item for you. We request payment by bank transfer (we do not accept payment via PayPal, credit or debit cards for international purchases). Payment is requested within 10 days of the purchase. Payment must be cleared before the items are collected or delivered to our shippers. The advertised price of the item does not include the shipping cost, sales tax, import duty or custom fees.

Important information regarding PayPal payment:
We only accept payment from fully verified PayPal account holders with confirmed addresses only. Items will only be sent to the confirmed address registered in PayPal. If you purchase an item and your address is not confirmed, your payment will be refunded and the purchase cancelled. It only takes a few moments to verify and confirm your PayPal details.

About the Seller:
This item is being sold by Yola Gray Antiques who is an accredited member of LAPADA (the UK’s largest Trade Association of Professional Art and Antique Dealers) and CINOA. CINOA is the world association of Art & Antique dealer associations. All LAPADA & CINOA members abide by their strict code of practice by adhering to reputable standards of quality, expertise and integrity.

Yola Gray has dealt in fine art and antique furniture for over 40 years. Yola Gray has a special interest in Colonial furniture, specifically Colonial Four Poster Beds. Yola Gray also provides a variety of fine English Antique Furniture, Art and Fabrics to clients in the UK, Europe and further afield.

Please visit the Yola Gray website at www.yolagray.com for further items and information.

Ref. STR429

Object History

The West End Watch Company was established in 1886 by Arnold Amstutz and Constant Droz, and has produced over 15 million watches to date. Although the company takes its name from London’s West End, it has always been based in Switzerland.

One of The West End Watch Company’s first achievements was the development of the first ever waterproof pocket watch, known as ‘L’Impermeable’, in the latter part of the 19th Century.

Around the same time, the company trademark was taken to the Indian market with great success, becoming the standard supplier of clocks and watches for many of India’s railway companies, leading them to become a household name in India. This continued from the latter part of the 19th Century, until the 1980s. They were also a standard supplier for major Indian government departments. During the First World War they supplied watches to British and Indian soldiers headed for Mesopotamia (now modern-day Iraq).

The company changed its name in 1917, to Société des Montres West End SA, registered to Geneva, and also created the sub-brand Sowar. The Sowar name, taken from a type of Indian cavalry man, was chosen in honour of Sir Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, as it is believed he and his men wore West End Watch Company watches during their campaign.

In 1934, the Société des Montres West End SA became the first brand to introduce the Incabloc anti-shock system, a spring-loaded mounting system designed to protect the mechanisms of watches if dropped.

Due to lack of heirs, the company was sold in 1973 to its main supplier, Aubry Brothers Ltd in Noirmont, in order to keep the Bombay West End Watch Company’s offices open.

In the early 2000s, the company’s workshops and head office relocated to Leytron, where they remain to this day. The West End Watch Company continues to be active in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and western China.

This clock was designed for use in public buildings such as schools or railway stations within the British colonies; therefore, its reliability and quality of construction were paramount. This clock is of very good quality and it was constructed prior to wartime restrictions being imposed regarding materials; therefore no costs were spared in its construction.

Object Condition

This clock has been sympathetically restored to a high standard and is now in good working order. Nominal old use marks to the case and tin dial but nothing significant considering the age of the item. The mahogany case is in good condition. The mahogany case has been French polished and the tin dial painted. The brass-hinged bezel is in good working order, with some movement in the hinge. The bezel-locking latch is present and working and prevents the bezel from opening. The mechanism is original; it has been cleaned and serviced and is in good working order, keeping good time. As we are confident that you will have no problems with the mechanism, we offer a 2-year UK warranty whereby if there were a mechanical problem with the clock, we would collect it free of charge from you, have it repaired and returned free of charge to you. We also offer a 14-day UK returns policy if you were not happy with it or wanted to return it for any reason. Please also note, this clock has the original mechanism; it has not been replaced with a cheaper devaluing electrical battery-operated kit that you see on some clocks.

Object Details