Taking a Closer Peek at the Comtoise Grandfather Clock

The Comtoise clock style is just one of the two types of grandfather clocks. This French clock generally differs from the other type, because of its pot-belly case and the use of curves in the mainly straight lined grandfather clock designs.

The Comtoise clocks, in the French region, started with the Mayet family in the Morbier area. The Mayet family is a family of iron workers, who successfully repaired and replaced the clock in St. Claude Capucine convent. Because of their profession, the Comtoise clocks were made on iron-strip frames, much like the manner of the production of Gothic clocks.

Traditionally, the clocks had inverted verge escapements. As clock technology improved, these escapements were replaced with the anchor escapements, with hour and half-hour vertical rack strikings.

These grandfather clocks propagated the use of clocks in the French countryside. Like most country clocks, they re-struck the hour, after a space of two minutes. This is because the pendulum at that time, causes the dial to beat seconds longer or shorter depending on the manually-driven cranked crunch after ca 1800 swinging movement.

Originally, the Comtoise clocks were designed to stand with its full long case, usually made of pine wood, with curved sides usually designed with violin-shaped curves or a potbelly curve, then painted and grained in traditional, country fashion. However, with the passing of the years, these grandfather clocks have also been hung from a bracket.