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Antique American Clocks                           July 2022

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5.                   $800

Waterbury Clock Co. “Augusta”, ca. 1893.  A 50-inch clean oak case with applied carvings, dragons, rope twist columns and brass ornamentation. I see no missing pieces and it appears as shown in the 1893 catalog illustration.  I do note that the top right dragon’s tail has been broken off and reglued into place.  The dial glass is old, the dial has been resilvered/repainted, signed and renumbered. The hands are Waterbury style but may be old replacements.  The pendulum bob is Waterbury issue, the weights are improper (but effective) replacements.  There are acorns (probably replacements, but who can tell) on the ends of the pull chains.  The 8-day, time-and-strike movement is signed, running, and keeping time, striking on the cathedral gong above the movement.  Waterbury must have used long-drop and short-drop movements in this model over the years, as you see these with long and short pendulums. Indeed, the catalog illustration shown in Ly, Waterbury Clocks & Watches (page 198 of Vol. 1), shows a short drop pendulum. The movement here specifies a 21-inch pendulum (see the stamp on the lower right stem of the movement), and thus this pendulum is correct for this example.  I checked it for timekeeping, and it is just slightly less accurate than my 1962 Hamilton RR Special wristwatch.  Or my cell phone.  There is a St. Louis jeweler’s label on the back, and it appears a Waterbury label was there at one time.  A nice example.  Three sales on LiveAuctioneers in 2021, two for $850 at Fontaine’s and one at Schmidt’s Antiques for $1100.  $800-$1200.

 

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Can I return my clock if I don’t like it?

 

Absolutely!  Save your packing and box, you have 30 days from receipt to return it for a full refund if you are unhappy.  If the clock is not as described, or I missed something important and that is not evident from the pictures, I will refund your shipping costs (both ways) as well.  Find another auction company that does that!