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SZR.46
Grandfather clock
A reproduction of a Belgian pendulum clock, in close-grained solid oak. Thick wood, four bun feet and a large arch that puts the movement on show.
A clock that is yours alone. Wood, finish, colour and melody: we start from this model and finish it together, the way you want it.
- Dimensions
- Height 206 cm · width 67 cm · depth 37 cm · weight 90 kg
- Wood
- Solid close-grained Slavonian oak, up to 10 cm thick, seasoned for more than 10 years; back in MDF veneered and edged in oak
- Finish
- Light oak, nitro, firm and fairly matt
- Movement
- German Kieninger mechanical movement in mirror-polished brass; cable-driven, weekly crank winding in the 3 dial holes; switchable night silencer from 10 pm to 7:15 am
- Chime
- Three melodies on 12 notes, on long brass-finished rods, every quarter hour: Westminster, Whittington, St Michael; hour strike; switchable automatic melody change every hour
- Dial
- Engraved and hand-painted with German landscapes by Paul Merkte; small moon phase above the 6; seconds; four painted wooden dancers
- Pendulum
- Polished brass cylinder pendulum, one swing per second; decorated weights; by Jaeckle
- Other
- Two hand-carved half capitals; 5 mm hand-bevelled glass fixed with strips and screws; adjustable gilt hinges; four unscrewable bun feet; the hood slides forward like a drawer
How it is made
We build it following the wishes of our first Belgian customers, who wanted thick wood, up to 10 cm, for the doors, mouldings and carvings. The close-grained Slavonian oak was chosen in person by our founder, Antonio Altobel, and left to dry naturally for more than 10 years. The back is MDF veneered and edged in oak, so it feels like living wood yet stays stable for a lifetime.
Carlo removes the extra wood on the machine and Franco carves the two half capitals by hand. The 5 mm glass is bevelled by hand on every edge by Giovanni Casella, and we fix it with strips and screws, the traditional way. Stefano finishes it in light oak, with a firm but fairly matt nitro finish: it protects the wood well without making it look like plastic. The two doors have adjustable gilt hinges, and the four feet unscrew.
The Kieninger movement is large and mirror-polished, and the light from the side glass and the arch shows all of it. Every quarter hour it plays Westminster, Whittington or St Michael on 12 notes, as you choose, and it can change melody by itself every hour. The dial, engraved and hand-painted by Paul Merkte with German landscapes, has a small moon phase above the 6, true seconds and four painted wooden dancers that come out every quarter hour, as on Marienplatz in Munich. The cylinder pendulum swings slowly, one second at a time. It is cable-driven, so there are no chains in front of the pendulum: it is wound every week with the crank in the 3 holes on the dial.
