Antique HAC Westminster Chiming Mantel Clock c1930 Oak Napoleon Hat

Antique HAC Westminster Chiming Napoleon's Hat Mantel Clock. Hamburg American Clock Company · Germany · Circa 1930s.

Napoleon's Hat Oak Case. Dating from the closing years of HAC's independence in the early 1930s, this is a clock made at the very height of the maker's engineering confidence, housed in a handsome oak Napoleon's hat case whose broad domed top sweeps down into gently flared, scrolled sides on a stepped, beaded plinth. The oak has been carefully revived to bring out the depth and warmth of the grain while retaining the colour variation and character built up over nine decades of life on English mantelpieces. Please refer to the photographs for a true impression of the case finish and condition. The Maker: Hamburg American Clock Company. Few German clockmakers carry a story as colourful as HAC's. The firm was founded in 1873 by Paul Landenberger, a former business manager at Junghans and son in law of Junghans founder Erhard Junghans, together with his partner Philipp Lang. What began as the modest Landenberger & Lang workshop was reorganised in the 1880s as the Hamburg Amerikanische Uhrenfabrik, taking its name from an early Hamburg investor and from the efficient American-style production methods the company adopted on the factory floor. Through the following decades HAC grew into a genuine rival to Junghans itself, employing over two thousand people by the mid-1920s and building its own workers' housing district, a mark of a company at the top of its game. This clock was made in that final, confident chapter before HAC and Junghans drew together in cooperation and, in 1930, merged outright. It represents German clockmaking craftsmanship near its interwar peak, from a maker whose movements were engineered to outlast the company that built them, and whose crossed arrows mark remains a genuine collector's signature today. The Napoleon's hat silhouette, named for its resemblance to the bicorne hat, was a popular case style for quality German movements imported into Britain during the interwar period. This example has a generous 42cm span, giving it real presence on a mantelpiece or sideboard without feeling heavy, and a beaded moulding runs along the base on brass bun feet.

The original silvered dial carries bold black Roman numerals, shaped blued steel hands and a regulation index marked S and F either side of the winding centre for fine timekeeping adjustment. A discreet lever set into the bezel beside the numeral IX allows the Westminster chime to be selected or silenced. The dial shows honest age related wear, marks and patination consistent with its years, all visible in the photographs.

The substantial three train mechanical movement plays the familiar Westminster melody progressively on each quarter, followed by the hour count on the hour. The chimes sound across a bank of five resonant gong rods mounted to the backplate, giving the rich, full tone associated with quality pre-war German movements.

The silent option allows the clock to be run for timekeeping alone. A traditional spring driven pendulum movement, wound through three winding squares on the dial, one for timekeeping and one each for the quarter chime and hour strike trains.

Every clock we offer is fully stripped down before sale, never simply wound and listed. This one has been dismantled, ultrasonically cleaned, inspected, reassembled and correctly lubricated using Novostar oil on the mainsprings and synthetic clock oil on the pivots, before regulation and multi-day bench testing. It is currently running, chiming and striking correctly.

Movement fully dismantled and ultrasonically cleaned. Mainsprings lubricated with Novostar oil. Pivots lubricated with synthetic clock oil.

Reassembled, regulated and bench tested over several days. Case hand finished to revive the oak grain and colour. Chime and silent functions checked and confirmed working. This is an original mechanical clock approaching a century in age and displays the expected signs of previous ownership, including wear and patination to the silvered dial, light marks to the bezel and minor imperfections within the oak case.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description. The clock presents beautifully overall, with an attractive case colour, a substantial period movement and a genuinely impressive Westminster chime.

Please note: mechanical clocks may need a small adjustment once positioned in their new home after transportation. CAREFULLY RESTORED VINTAGE MECHANICAL CLOCKS.