Some tall case clocks have a hand that indicates the date while others show the date in a half or semi-circle. Do these differences indicate when and in what country the clock was made.

John W. Moore

Not in and of themselves. I have seen English, French, German and American clocks from the 18th and early nineteenth centuries with both center dates and dates in a window. I have also seen some with dates indicated with a third hand, mounted either above or below the hour and minute hand, sort of like a seconds hand. In order to assign a country of origin, you need to know details such as how the pillars are made, how the hands are formed, whether there are any specific ways the wheels are crossed out, and most especially, how the dial and false plate are marked and mounted. Also a large indicator is how the dial is laid out and decorated. Although even that can involve a bit of guess work. I have seen situations where a movement from one country is mated with a dial from another. This is frequently the situation with early American clocks. the maker ordered a movement from England, France or Germany and a dial from a local craftsman. Many American clockmakers in the colonial and early Federal period were not movement makers, and made only cases.