Clocks

I have been selling vintage French alarm clocks for a while now on Ebay as cherchez-chic and am delighted to discover that there are many people out there who are as passionate about them as I am.

Here are just a few of them.

I have collected them for years with my collection growing exponentially when I bought some of the contents of a watch and clock repairers shop in a nearby town. I love the fact that they still work as well now as the day they were made (I believe my approach to modern technology is known as 'late adopter').

They are also a little microcosm of 20th Century design from Art deco to Modernism, made from bakelite, chrome, alumininium and a host of other materials, they have curls, fins like American cars from the 1950's, sweet little faces, paint in adorable ice-cream colours and lots more wonderful details.

All the clocks I sell are cleaned and I have them running for a few weeks to make sure they are in tip top condition.

If you come to stay at La Jovienne you will find one (or more) in your bedroom.

I love the sound of them ticking away, some of them chime too. They give the impression that the house has a secret life unpeturbed by us.

 This one is in the Chambre "Montagne".

They are by no means the only clocks in the house. Here are just a few of the others.

A collection of 19th Century marble mantel clocks.

I love the bronze lion mask handles on this one. It has a pair of matching candelabra.

This one is French but was bought in London so has crossed the channel twice!

This one is huge! It dates from 1810 and works perfectly. It comes from the nearby small town called Sauxillanges.

But I think this is my favourite for lots of reasons. It dates from 1760! and is a very unusual shape called an 'Isabelle'. It is made from oak that has been hand carved and polished with beeswax over the centuries.

The carving is just wonderful depicting suns with three ears of corn to symbolise fertility. This was probably made for a marriage, possibly by the groom, I hope his bride was as delighted with it as I am. This was the 'reward' for being awarded 'trois épis' (three ears of corn)by Gîtes de France after passing a very meticulous inspection accompanied by the usual pile of paperwork.

It was just meant to be!