Tall Clock

This clock case design was taken from the clock made by Thomas Tompion for King William III - now in the British Museum - mahogany, ebony, brass, silver - the case took 3 years to make and contains an antique English triple fusee movement - the base took another 2 years - as my wife is an artist, she is able to bring to life the designs that I want to feature - she also makes the drawings, followed by clay models that I can invest and cast brass pieces as needed - the dial features four leaf patterns in the corners, which I used the repousee technique to create - the chapter ring area is sheet silver - I do all of my own engraving as needed, especially the roman numerals - the fretwork pattern is laid onto the mahogany and traced out with carbon paper - subsequently, each fret is cut out and then refined as needed with files and sandpaper, etc. - I do not make reproductions, but use period pieces for inspiration and make a design that is appealing to me - this is the same technique used by the 18th century masters, as they used published books and other maker's work for their final design - the original Tompion case is much smaller that this, but as I took the design from a photo, had no idea as to overall measurements - I was quite surprised to see the actual clock on a visit to London and marveled at the case and its castings, which I believe are silver - the finish is traditional shellac applied in many coats and then sanded flat to fill the mahogany wood pores - once they are completely filled, the final coats are applied and in some instances, French polished - I never use any wax to finish a project