Hi everyone,

If you work on pocket watches you will find the platform escapements of these little French clocks to be very easy to work on. There is much more room to get in there and adjust the beat and hair springs. At least it was like that for this one.

The escapement is visible through the window on the top of the case. This is a lever escapement, the last one I did many years ago had a cylinder escapement.

This carriage clock has a time only movement. So, it's rather simple and straight forward to work on. There are a few tricks to working on a clock like this, for example when replacing the glass panel case, it can be held together with a rubber band to hold everything in place until the screws are tightened down.

But getting to the point, as you can see in the first image, the outer case needs some attention. The thin leather covering has turned brittle and is flaking off. My guess is that the case was left in a sunny room or a hot attic for many years. The little front panel was kept in the back compartment of the case, so it is still in excellent condition.

The question is what to do about the missing leather covering? Does anyone have experience restoring these things?

Thanks in advance.