If your grandmother’s watch has a copper dial, this was probably done between 1680 and 1770. The early hours with a brass dial had only one hand, because the average person didn’t need to know the time to the nearest minute and with practice bits you can tell the time to the next five minutes in one of these early (and rare) hours.
By 1730, the vast majority of grandfathers had two hands in hours and minutes. Disposable clocks continued in some parts of the country for some time after 1730. Village life was very conservative, and people living in the villages at this time still did not need a “minute”.
Approximately in 1730 (all these figures are approximate throughout this article) brass firing watches were made all over England in ever-growing numbers, and dials became more decorative over time, especially at eight days. Additional features have appeared, such as the seconds hands in the small sub-dial, the dates of the hands or wheels, and the phases of the moon, usually in the arch over the dial, but sometimes in the small diaphragm of the dial
The simplest watches to date and the most popular in America are hand-painted dial watches, often called the “white clock” in the UK
Painted dial watches appeared approximately from 1765 to 1780, and after that watches with copper watches ceased to appear, again with a few exceptions in rural areas, especially in the remote southern counties of England. Most English grandmother watches were made in the Midlands and in the north of England. The new painted dial was cheaper and easier to manufacture, and it was easier to read because of the faint light available at night, so the copper dial was removed from production in a very short period of time, for our purposes it was fair to say that the watch with a copper dial were not made in the large centers of watchmaking after 1780.
It is worth mentioning here that the watches we are talking about did not differ from the dialing itself; everything else remained unchanged in both cases, only the set was changed.
Fortunately, the painted dials have followed a certain progress, since fashion has changed slowly over time, which means that we can usually meet with the clock until the next five to ten years. - - - And it also means that we can immediately see important functions without having to disassemble the clock.
The first white dials from 1770 to 1800 were beautiful, simply and economically decorated, and with mostly on a white background. Decoration In accordance with the spangles painted with gold paint in the four corners (they probably resemble cast brass spandrellas mounted on copper dials). Sometimes a dial of flowers or the like was painted on the dial, but again it was very economical and reserved. The hands were made of steel, very thin, often painted black or painted black and not quite suitable.
Another year for early dialing is the use of dots for minutes with small Arabic numerals around the dial at 5, 10, 15 minutes, etc. D. The clock is marked with Roman numerals.
From 1800 to 1830, the style of the dial slightly changed, and from that time the corresponding steel hands were used. Minutes were still dots, not lines inside the two narrow concentric circles we were used to, but the minute numbers were replaced only by quarters, not every five minutes. Missing numbers were often replaced by small characters, often resembling stars.
At this time, it also became fashionable to use Arabic numerals for watches instead of Roman numerals. The decoration of the painted background begins to spread as well; arched dials have a scene written in an arch, often with splashes of colors on each side. Coal painting also spreads a bit, and imitation spandas are now often geometric patterns, or fan shapes, or floral designs that fill the corner.
Now we come to the later hours from about 1830 to 1880. In the north of England, after 1830, the grandmother's watches gradually grew larger and larger, and by the end of the period some of them were huge — the dials often stood at fifteen inches and were eight feet high, sometimes nine feet or more.
Given the large dial area that will be decorated, the dials went to the city, the corner paintings became little masterpieces in their own right, and the piece of jewelry went from the corner to the right in a circle to meet the next painting angle, etc. the dial, and the artist painted a large stage, often a biblical illustration or scene in the country, a sea scene, a ruined abbey, or something specially ordered by a client.
The clock went back to the Roman numerals and remain so; hands are now well decorated with brass and fit together. These brass hands were used after 1830 for the remainder of the period when grandfather clocks were made, in other words until 1880, possibly in rare cases until 1890.
Minutes are shown by minute strip, two concentric circles are close to each other, with lines inside to represent each minute and numbers of minutes. Date and second auxiliary dials are now common, and small decorative hands mounted on them are also brass and matching.
To finish, here is a quick guide to the various functions and their dates:
(Of course, all dates are approximate, until the next ten years.)
numbering
Dotted minutes - from 1770 to 1800
Minutes numbered every five minutes - from 1770 to 1800
Minutes numbered quarterly from 1800 to 1820
No minute numbers - from 1820 to 1880
Roman clock - 1770-1800, then 1825-1880.
Arabic hour numerals - from 1800 to 1825
Full minute strip - from 1815 to 1880
Corner decoration
Flowers or fruits - from 1770 to 1800
Fans, shells or annotation - from 1790 to 1830
No pattern - left space - from 1780 to 1820
Golden imitations of spandrels - from 1775 to 1785
Arch decoration
Manufacturer name - from 1770 to 1780
Flowers or birds - from 1770 to 1795
Little painting on a white background - from 1795 to 1815
Fully painted scene - from 1820 to 1880
Moon - 1770 - 1830
Set size
From 10 "to 13" - from 1770 to 1810
13 "to 15" - 1810-1880
Square cabinet - from 1770 to 1825
The Arch Dial - 1770 to 1880
Arms
Steel - from 1770 to 1815
Brass - from 1815 to 1880
