Pendulum Wall Clock - Antique Designs With Modern Flare

Pendulum clocks are popular time pieces that utilize a swinging weight, also known as a pendulum, to aid in keeping accurate time. At the time of its introduction until the 1930's, the pendulum wall clock was the most accurate timekeeper in the world. The ideas that would eventually lead to pendulum wall clocks being invented, were first investigated by famous scientist and philosopher, Galileo Galilei. Galilei, with the help of his son, partially constructed the first pendulum clock in 1649. Sadly, neither father or son lived to finish the invention. The first complete pendulum clock was invented by Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch scientist, in 1656. Huygens patented his invention in 1657.

Pendulum clocks must be kept stationary to work effectively. Any motion of the pendulum clock housing can affect the motion of the pendulum. Unnecessary motion of the pendulum can cause inaccuracies in the time displayed. If kept stationary, the time displayed on pendulum clocks can be relied on to be accurate, with only a one second per year error. The degree to which a pendulum swings is also greatly linked to its accuracy. Around 1670, the degree to which a pendulum swung was reduced from 100 degrees to 4 - 6 degrees, thereby greatly increasing accuracy.

When the first pendulum clocks were introduced to consumers they were very expensive due to the individual crafting that went into each piece. Each clock took a long time to create and was crafted with such rich ornamentation, that they soon became coveted by the wealthy as status symbols. In addition, pendulum clock makers in each country typically had their own distinct style of crafting the clocks, with the styles being specific to the region they were in. Although the first pendulum clocks were created over 300 years ago, the pendulum clock is still kept for decorative purposes and for their antique value.

Early pendulum housing styles typically reflected furnishings styles that were popular at the time. In fact, antique experts can determine when a pendulum clock was created by looking at the ornamentation of the cases, houses, and faces. Perhaps the most popular style of pendulum clock is the grandfather (also known as long-case) clock. The first grandfather clock was made by clockmaker William Clement in 1680. The pendulum in grandfather clocks is long in comparison to wall mounted clocks. Most grandfather clocks sounds the time (by hour or fraction of hour) audibly.

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