Posted 3 years ago
rlwindle
(151 items)
I purchased a ATO clock from a vendor in Leicester UK on eBay. It is certainly in the best shape of any of the Wooden ATO's I have purchased . The movement itself was is marked in Hatot's usual spot in the upper right hand the movement. The clock was also marked on the back on the regulator. The address was "23 rue da la Michodiere, Paris". Leon Hatot had to move his enterprise from this address in 1928, so the clock was manufactured before the move. The movement is marked 5276. It also features cap screws, instead of the tedious nuts that normally hold the movement in the case,
The interesting thing about the name plate on the back, is that it has a moveable magnetized regulator and markings under it to supposedly to make it go Fast or slow. When I opened the movement cover and the regulator is attached by two small rivets and a screw in the center , and like the previous ATO clock the regulator is even with the magnet pendulum in the movement.
The small regulator magnet on the back of the case serves to either speed up or slow down the magnetic field of the main magnet pendulum (depending upon orientation). So at least in theory it should serve as a means for fine regulation, it doesn't. Batteries back when this clock was made were encased in paper and there was no magnetic field interference. Today's batteries are encased in some metal alloy that interferes with the magnetic field of the clock's magnetic pendulum.
The clock stands 11" in height, 8.75" in width, and 3" in depth and keep questionable time.