Small regulator, 1890s

Overview

This small wall-mounted clock is a very early design by Synchronome, the company headed by George Bennett Bowell and Frank Hope-Jones that would later become one of the era-defining manufacturers of electric clocks. It is the earliest known Synchronome timekeeper to feature a half-second pendulum, and its small size may suggest it was intended for domestic or small office environments. It contains a very early iteration of the ‘Synchronome Switch’ – a gravity arm that falls every 30 seconds – but here the contact is attached directly to the end of the arm, rather than being insulated from it. It is labelled number 5 and – unusually – has a 30 second dial with seconds hand mounted on the escape wheel arbor.