I continue to come across some interesting time pieces. I know very little about this one. It is solid brass, about 9” in diameter and about 4 ½” deep.

I believe it is English and was manufactured by Astral, and I believe it was used in a machine room or the machine room of a ship.

I would appreciate any information you folks may have concerning this time piece. I was not at all impressed by the balance wheel. It was not jeweled and seemed to be cheaply made. It reminds me of my old MG. 

Here the face plate.

The front plate of the movement.

The back plate of the movement.

Manufacture information and serial number.

The balance wheel.

And finally, a picture of the complete movement.

Ken

I couldn't find anything on the maker but I did find another one for sell on Ebay just like it, since this is on the public side I can't post the info.

I do know that the Coventry area was at one time one of the big watch making industries in England. A few years ago I bought a few pamphlets from their local museum but they don't mention that brand.

Tom

I know very little about clocks but I found this reference that may be of help....

'Astral' was the trade name of Henry W Williamson Ltd who were a volume manufacturer of clocks and watches from London and Holyhead Road Coventry. They went into receivership in 1931 and became part of S Smith & Sons.

GREETINGS KEN, IT LOOKS LIKE THE PLATFORM IS NOT ORIGINAL, IT SEEMS NEWER THAN THAN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE CLOCK. THAT IS WHY THE BALANCE WHEEL LOOKS OUT OF PLACE. EDDIE

Eddie,

I'll bet your right. I noticed someone has soldered an extension to the adjustment bar. That is tacky. I'll need to see if I can find a better replacement.

Ken

Does anybody have a replacement platform that I can purhcase to replace the platform in this clock? I'd like to have it restored to it's original condition.

GREETINGS KEN, DO YOU BELONG TO THE B.H.I. IF SO YOU SHOULD POST YOUR YOUR SEARCH ON THE MEMBERS WEB SITE FOR A PLATFORM FOR YOUR CLOCK IF NOT I AM A MEMBER AND I WILL POST IT FOR YOU LET ME KNOW. EDDIE

Eddie,
I give up! What is BHI.
Bill

Bill,
The B.H.I. is the British Horological Institute, based in Upton Hall, Newark, UK.

www.bhi.co.uk

Interesting clock Ken, Astral were big clock manufacturers at one time, and also produced movements for mantle clocks of the 'Napoleon Hat' variety.

The platform as Eddie states, is way too late for your clock, it has variable beat adjustment as well as regulation.
If you look at the stud, this is on a moveable plate, which shifts the whole hairpring and balance orientation relative to the lever - it's a lot easier method than tweaking the harspring collet round on the staff!

Shame you didn't holler for a platform a few months back, I shipped out about a dozen or more Swiss lever types that would have been correct for this movement.

You will certainly find them on eBay, as they're regularly listed, but before you bid on any, you need the plate dimensions, the pinion leaf count, and depth of the pinion, as all these are widely varied and easy to buy something totally unuseable.

The extended reg lever is something you may have to make anyway, as it appears to be unique to that clock, generally they're all short(ish).

John

Hi John,

Thanks for that answer on the British Horological Institute. This is why it never hurts to ask questions. The answers are usually forthcoming.!

By the way, I like the straight forward info you pass along to others.

Bill

Thanks Bill, your comments are very much appreciated.

Ken , you may want to check the mainspring barrel and centre wheel on your clock, taking another look at the photo, it appears the centre wheel pinion is only halfway onto the barrel teeth, not good!

The other end of the barrel also appears very close to the centre wheel, and looks like the barrel has been shifted across on the arbor for some reason - could be badly worn inner hub faces?

John

John,

Thanks for the heads up. I need to open this clock anyway to measure the platform. Oh well, that is what happens you buy a item and not look inside the box. :-)

Ken

If you look again at the picture, you will see that the center wheel is connected in the back to the third wheel, which inturn is connected to the barrel. However it does give the illusion that the center wheel is connected directly to the barrel.

Ken, I don't think it is a ships clock. I am not well versed in clocks but it looks more like a mantle clock. I sure hope it works better than the MG s I have known. In my part of the country they would never start below 35 degrees Fahrenheit and had Lucas electrics obviously designed and made in Albania under the Commies.