Origins of the Mantle Clock

The mantle clock started out in France in the early 16th century. In the early days, the mantle clock is a weight driven clock, which uses a string that winds the wheels. Since weight driven clocks would usually require some elaborate mechanisms to keep it going, clocks at that time were big and heavy.

During this time, most houses in France would have some huge clock on their fireplace or on some other prominent areas of the house. Note that since the clock is a bit heavy, it will need some stable support such as the fireplace. When it comes to decorations, the mantle clock is often decorated with candleholders, vases and other art forms.

In the early 17th century, a certain Peter Henlein of Nuremberg discovered the spring powered mantle clock and this changed the history of the clock forever. Where the old mantle clock used to be very big and would need some really study support such as the fireplace, the new spring powered clock, which was discovered by Henlein, allow the manufacturers of the clock to reduce the size thereof.

When the manufacturers begun reducing the size of the mantle clock, people began buying this type of clock to serve a part of their house decoration. Since the smaller version of the clock can now fit into a table, designer of furniture in the 1700 to 1890 have been made to accommodate the mantle clocks that have become very popular at that time.

The mantle clock came in different designs and materials at that time. Wealthy families at that time would often ask for a clock maker to design for them a clock that blends with the decorative items in their house. Bronze, marble and hardwood were one of the most popular materials used in making the clock. In some cases, some gems and precious stones are also used as part of the design of the mantle clock. These kinds of clocks were indeed very popular timepieces.