Unlike the early

 Bracket 

gives its name to the most popular clocks made in England between the 17th and the 19th century is taken from the bracket they used to be mounted on. The first clocks of this kind were manufactured to match the furniture they were placed on, often made with the same material and sometimes with identical decorative motifs. The foldaway handle was used to carry them from one place to another.

clocks, conceived to be placed on a shelf or a matching piece of furniture, this table clock was designed to be placed on a table or a mantelpiece.

English clocks are widely appreciated for their robustness and the excellent working of their mechanism. Despite the different aesthetics in comparison to those made in the rest of Europe, between the 17^th and the 19^th century English clocks incorporated all the latest improvements, both in machinery and in materials. The technological innovation in the mechanism contrasts with the virtually unchanged casing which did however gradually add bronze decorations, as in this particular instance.

The casing is made of wood and tortoiseshell, while the decorative elements are gilded bronze. The frets amplify the sound and the mechanism is protected by glass.

As the inscriptions on the dial reveal, it is possible to use the mechanism without chime or with the chime of 8 or 10 bells. Roman numerals are used for the hours and Arabic for the minutes. The rectangular-shaped machine has three trains: one chiming train for the quarters, one for the hours, and the motion train. All of them have a mainspring, chain, fusee snail, and fusee.

The motion train has a recoil or anchor escapement with suspension spring. The chiming train allows for two types of striking: chime on ten bells, and chime on eight bells, both on pitch so as to make it possible to choose which one we wish to hear. The chiming train strikes the hours on a bourdon. It also has a silent-strike lever. The back plate is engraved with vegetal motifs.