Antique Car Clocks

Antique car clocks have been a great part of the lives of antique car owners. Travelers have taken advantage of the numerous portable clocks over the years which ranged from pocket sundials to pocket watches. During the 19th century, as the same time as more and more people began to travel by car, they needed timepieces which can travel with them. One such timepiece was the carriage clock with a extraordinarily shockproof movement that was perfected by French watchmaker Abraham Louis Brequet during the late part of the 18th century. In other occurrences, the pocket watches were placed in leather holders which fit over the front board of the car.

Antique clock collecting is fun. A new breed of timepiece was introduced – the antique car clocks – as the same time as inventors and manufacturers like Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, Henry Ford, J. Frank Duryea and Ransom E. Olds advanced the development of the automobile. By 1908, speedometer companies were manufacturing and selling clocks as after-market additions. Over the next decade, the car clock increased in popularity and some companies started catering to the growing market such as the Warner Instrument Company, Stewart Speedometer Company, Seth Thomas Clock Company, Boston Clock Company, Chelsea Clock Company and Phinney-Walker Keyless Clock Company.

In several instances, there was a clear crossover between marine clocks and car clocks. Waltham, a top supplier of antique car clocks, marketed matching timepieces for both cars and boats. They manufactured their handy 37 size watch movements for definite applications. They were widely used in clocks which are made for cars, boats, tanks, planes and timing devices. Manufacturers gave customers numerous choices providing models which mounted on general interior dashboards, surfaces, gearshifts, steering wheels and rear-view mirrors. The winding mechanisms also developed from key-wind clocks to stem-wind clocks to rim-wind clocks.

In the 1930s and 40s, the electric car clocks were in assembly, but mechanical clocks were still offered. It was not until the 50s and 60s when electric clocks actually conquered the market, at least up until the start of quartz technology. Antique car clocks were not only functional but were ornaments that provide more aesthetic charm to vintage cars.