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Repairs of old clocks and pendulums

Each pendulum generates a restoration project.
Each restoration is unique and requires specialized skills.
Whether it is an overhaul, manufacturing of parts, cleaning of gilded bronzes,
replacement of needles or broken glass,
the Rousselot Horlogerie workshop is able to do this.

You can click on the photographs and read their detailed description.
Good reading

GILT BRONZE CHARIOT CLOCK CASE

Boîtier de pendule française, tout début XIXème siècle. 

French clock case, very early 19th century. This restoration project focused on the revision of the clock movement and especially on the restoration of the gilded bronze case. The bronze was in fairly good general condition, it was only very dirty and we could no longer see the details of the carving and gilding. As in all cleaning work on bronzes, everything begins with a complete and careful dismantling with a strict methodology to be able to reassemble all the elements correctly in their place. Then the bronzes are cleaned with neutral products for gilding and dried perfectly so as not to leave any humidity on the surface of the metal before proceeding with its complete reassembly.

ROBIN REGULATOR

Régulateur français, fin XVIIIème siècle, début XIXème siècle. 

French regulator, late 18th century, early 19th century. The restoration covered the movement, case and dial. The movement, made from a Paris movement, was improved by Robin fils to have a central second hand. This complication, although fine, requires a lot of force from the movement when it is poorly adjusted. It has been twisted and disconnected in the past probably because otherwise the clock would stop. The restoration of the movement allowed the resumption of wear but above all the return to operation of this complication. This part serves as a whip and creates the jerky effect of the seconds hand. This small element creates friction and requires fine and careful adjustment to minimize the force required for the movement. All of this had to be taken into account when getting back into shape. The dial has little gold dots at each minute indication and there were some missing. A ceramic restorer therefore restored these golden points. The glazed case was in gilded bronze, unfortunately the gilding has disappeared. There are some traces of this old gilding remaining and it was pink gilding, which is very rare and particularly elegant. The gilding has disappeared because the case was cleaned with brass cleaning products which are very aggressive. The case had to be completely dismantled to be cleaned and to remove traces of drippings from old cleaning products. The case has not been re-gilded but it has been protected to prevent the bronze from oxidizing too quickly after its restoration. For confidentiality reasons, the clock will not be shown in its entirety.

AUSTRIAN PENDULUM

Exemple d'un mouvement qui provient d’une pendule autrichienne du XIXème siècle. 

Here is an example of a movement that comes from a 19th century Austrian clock. This movement has three trains: one for the time, one for the striking and one for the quarter striking. The particularity of these movements is that the barrels (elements which contain the springs) are fixed directly to the plate inside the movement. All this in addition to the fact that there are a lot of elements to put together and adjustments to make for the synchronization of the ringtone. The major difficulty is that if the reassembly of the barrel shafts (axis which passes through the middle of the spring) is not done well and they are not well hooked into the spring inside, once you have reassemble everything and make all the adjustments, there is a risk that one or more springs are not put under tension and that they cannot be armed. So you have to dismantle everything and start again.

HELIOCENTRIC PLANETARY PENDULUM
TOP WITH AN ENGRAVED AND GILT GLASS GLOBE

Pendule française, dernier quart du XVIIIème siècle. 

French clock, last quarter of the 18th century. This restoration project focused on the movement of the pendulum but especially on the globe and the planetary. The globe had been broken for many years and the planet no longer had all its elements. The movement was completely disassembled, cleaned, with polishing of the pivots, recovery of wear in the stoppers then reassembled and tested before reconnecting the planetary gear. The enamel dial had an old restoration at 3 o'clock. A ceramic restorer took it back and made it invisible. The planetary gear was also completely dismantled. It was particularly dirty, the brass had turned black. It was therefore important to clean the brass well without damaging it. Then check that all the wheels were perfectly free in relation to each other before reassembling everything. The orrery still had the earth, the moon (ivory spheres) and two stars in silver metal but Mars and Venus were missing. It was therefore necessary to provide two new ivory spheres. The earth and the moon were very dirty and the painting very damaged. It was a painting restorer who was responsible for restoring them and painting Mars and Venus. The restoration of the globe was the decisive part in bringing this clock back to life since it is truly the centerpiece. It was important to find someone capable of reassembling and connecting the decorations of the globe, while retaining the original gilding in the engraving. It was a heritage restorer with a specialty in glass who took care of it. For reasons of confidentiality, the clock will not be shown in its entirety.