This album contains a collection of home made or amateur clocks.

It can be difficult to decide exactly what to put into this folder. Many of these clocks are obviously home-made and have a distinctive look of an engineering product rather than a horological product. During the 1920s and 30s in Europe it was common for engineers to make clocks.  Manufacturers such as Synchronome sold clock parts for amateur assembly. It is therefore possible for some amateur clocks to contain professionally made parts and, in the case of synchronome, be similar to the commercial product were it not for the lack of a serial number plate. Frank Hope-Jones published a book 'Electric clocks and how to make them' in the 1940s and this contains plans for a variety of different types of clock and these may be found at auction relatively regularly. This book is available in the clockdoc general documents section.  The build quality is extremely variable.  Many amateur clocks use parts cannibalised from commercial clocks, particularly dials and cases.  the slave movements in pilot dials are often of relatively coarse workmanship and often do not copy the design that has been used for the master clock movement itself.

Conversely some amateur clockmakers were extremely skilled and it is not always easy to decide whether an unusual clock is of amateur build, part of a small production run or a single clock made as proof of principle for a patent application.  Where a maker and patents can be identified, clocks have their own folder.  There remain clocks that are difficult to classify such as the HE Jones clocks built by synchronome factory workers (see HE Jones Folder) or the patent application clocks made by Ffolliott Gray, neither of which were ever produced commercially but are designed and finished to a high standard.

In this folder you will find several of the common styles of amateur clock, the synchronome, a Bulle and the 'Hipp clock with prolonged impulse' from electric clocks and how to make them. While collectors often look down on amateur built clocks, some are exceptionally well-made and sometimes have unique and interesting designs.