Carriage clock

{{Short description|Spring-driven clock designed for travel}}

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File:Pendule à grande sonnerie Armand Couaillet.jpg

Image:Matthew Norman carriage clock.jpg

A carriage clock is a small, spring-driven clock, designed for travelling, developed in the early 19th century in France. The first carriage clock was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet for the Emperor Napoleon in 1812. The case, usually plain or gilt-brass, is rectangular with a carrying handle and often set with glass or more rarely enamel or porcelain panels. A feature of carriage clocks is the platform escapement, sometimes visible through a glazed aperture on the top of the case. Carriage clocks use a balance and balance spring for timekeeping and replaced the larger pendulum bracket clock.

The factory of Armand Couaillet, in Saint-Nicolas d'Aliermont, France, made thousands of carriage clocks between 1880 and 1920.

A carriage clock has in the past been a traditional gift from employers to retiring or long-serving staff. However, in modern times, with changing work patterns and changing desires, this is much less the case.{{cite web |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=25 November 2013 |title=Top five long-service awards for employees |url=https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/top-five-long-service-awards-for-employees/ |website=Employee Benefits}}{{cite news |date=24 February 2006 |title=Time runs out for carriage clock |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4747372.stm}}