Posted 5 years ago
Klwheeler77
(1 item)
This clock was bought by my grandfather in 1960. He bought it from a gentleman in Massachusetts. I have the cancelled check. Other than that I don’t have any information on it.
Waterbury Grandfather Clock | ||
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Hello Klwheeler77,
Welcome to Collectors Weekly!
Your heirloom is not a Grandfather's Clock. It is what is known as a Standing Regulator. Your model is Waterbury's "Regulator No. 52" and is from sometime around 1893. They were made from either Oak or Cherry wood. Yours looks like it may be Cherry to me. The movement is a very accurate (for a antique mechanical clock) 8-day weight powered No. 100 Movement. The movement is the real focus of Regulators. Your No. 100 Movement is described as "Finely finished movement of best quality encased in Iron Box. Dead-beat Pin Escapement, Sweep Second, Retaining Power." Your Regulator has a 12 inch Porcelain Dial and the Case stands 102 inches tall. Your Regulator has what is known as a "Gridiron Pendulum". This type of Pendulum uses alternating rods made of two different types of metals (I believe steel and brass) These two metals are affected by temperature changes to different degrees so that they off-set one another. The end result is that the Pendulum stays the same length even when the rods lengthen with heat or shrink when it gets cooler. This is important for accurate time-keeping. If the pendulum rod gets longer when it heats up, the clock will run slightly slower. Just the opposite when things cool down. This was more important in the days before climate controlled living spaces. Brand-new, these Regulators listed for $95.00 Adjusting for inflation since 1893 that would be worth about $2,723.00 in 2020.
In 2013, noted authority Tran Duy Ly appraised an all original, mint example of this clock at $6,500. Of course, antique clock prices have depreciated since then but it's still a very nice clock that is not seen on the market that often. In today's market, I think a good auction price would be somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000. Of course, almost anything is possible at an auction. It could sell for a lot less, or a lot more depending on the interest level.
Hope that helps give you a better idea of what your Grandfather valued enough to spend some of his hard-earned money on back in 1960.
Thanks for sharing your family heirloom with us. It's very nice.
Thank you for this wonderful information! I have a few other antiques I’ll post soon
You're very welcome.