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Ormolu Clocks

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Material: Ormolu
Grand French Gilt and Patinated Bronze Mantel Clock in the Empire Style
Located in London, GB
Constructed in bronze, patinated and gilt; the rectangular form case supported on engraved oblate spherical feet, the frieze dressed with a row of female masks capping pillars, linke...
Category

19th Century English Empire Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Early and Fine Bronze, Ormolu and Specimen Marble Clock with Cupid
Located in Belper, Derbyshire
A large, fine and exquisite, early antique French clock depicting cupid holding a sharpened golden arrow. It is of stunning quality and fully serviced and tested by our clockmakers. ...
Category

Early 19th Century French Louis Philippe Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Ormolu

Antique French Empire Neoclassical Gilt Bronze Figural Clock
Located in New York, NY
An Exquisite Antique French Period Empire Neoclassical gilt bronze figural clock embellished with figure of a neoclassical woman and bird.
Category

19th Century French Empire Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu, Steel, Enamel

19th Century French Clock Set, with Pietra Dura Panels
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century gilded ormolu Louis XVI style clock garniture. The clock having a Classical Roman soldier above a square section clock with inlaid marble clock face and supported by cherubs with swags. The pair of candelabra each having four branches, an urn and raised in plinths with inset Pietra Dura panels.
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19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

19th Century Gilt Bronze Mantle Clock in the Chinoiserie Taste
Located in London, GB
A good French antique mantel clock in the chinoiserie taste. Constructed in gilt bronze; the shaped case having oriental form scroll feet and decorated with foliates and surmounted with a figure of a Chinese lady of quality in traditional robes...
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19th Century French Chinoiserie Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Large French Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze cartel clock
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A large French Louis XV style gilt bronze cartel clock. After the model by Jacques Caffièri. The cartouche-shaped case representing sunrise an...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Victorian Ormolu Clock and Barometer Desk Set, of Maritime or Naval Interest
Located in London, GB
Each in the form of a ship's wheel with 2.5 inch silvered dial, contained in cases, one with seven turned banded agate handles, the other with eight banded agate handles, each on ova...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Agate, Ormolu

French Antique Ormolu Mantle Clock
Located in London, GB
An attractive Parisian mantle clock in the Louis XVI manner Retailed by the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company Constructed in Carrar...
Category

19th Century English Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Fine Antique French Tiffany & Co. Marble and Ormolu Bronze Clock Garniture
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An elegant 19th century ormolu mounted marble 3 piece clock garniture. This clock set was made in France for Tiffany & Company in the late 19th century. The set comprised of a clock...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Charles X Period Ormolu Mounted Jacob Petit Porcelain Mantel Clock
Located in London, GB
Charles X Period Ormolu Mounted Jacob Petit Porcelain Mantel Clock French, c.1825 Height 36cm, width 18.5m, depth 10.5cm Set within a beautiful porcelain case, parcel gilt, and flor...
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Early 19th Century French Charles X Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

French Empire Clock
Located in Hudson, NY
A very finely cast gilt bronze clock depicting Psyche at her toilet. The reflective mirror of polished bronze and that each element is cast separately then screwed on is an excellent...
Category

19th Century French Empire Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Three-Piece Clock Garniture by Raingo Frères, Paris
Located in London, by appointment only
A magnificent three-piece ormolu clock garniture of the finest quality. Spotless mercury gilding covers every visible space. Two female figures support the clock, two male figures su...
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1820s French Louis Philippe Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Period Portico Clock in Tulipwood, Fine Inlay, Ormolu Mounts-France, 19th c.
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Portico style French tulipwood clock with Boulle style fine inlays of mother-of-pearl and bronze. Eight day French movement with a grid-iron ormolu pendulum...
Category

19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu, Brass

Neo-Gothic antique three piece ormolu clock set
Located in London, GB
The central clock with dial to the center, displaying hours in individual plaques in Roman numerals and five minute intervals engraved into the ormolu case in Arabic numerals, the ca...
Category

19th Century French Gothic Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Antique French Louis XVI style gilt bronze cartel clock
Located in London, GB
Antique French Louis XVI style gilt bronze cartel clock French, late 19th Century Height 63cm, width 28cm, depth 10cm This elegant cartel clo...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Unusual French Gilt Bronze Chinoiserie Clock of Lovers
Located in New York, NY
19th c. French Gilt Dore Bronze Chinoiserie Clock possibly made for the Chinese market. The intricately dressed figures are highly detailed wi...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

French Mantel Clock and Candelabra of Gilt Bronze and Blue ‘Sèvres’ Porcelain
Located in London, GB
A Good French mantel clock garniture By Charles Oudin, Paris The garniture comprising a clock and two candelabras, constructed in gilt bronze and ‘Se...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Unusual 19th Century French rotary Clock Garniture
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A rare and very fine 19th century French Louis XVI style ormolu mounted white marble 3-piece Rotary (Annular) clock set comprising a clock and a pair of 3 arms candelabra. The urn s...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Louis XVI Style 19th Century Ormolu-Mounted White Marble Obelisk Mantel Clock
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A French white marble mantel clock of obelisk form with ormolu decorations in Louis XVI style. The enamel dial with Arabic numerals an...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

French gilt bronze and enamel three-piece clock set
Located in London, GB
French gilt bronze and enamel three-piece clock set French, late 19th Century Clock: Height 45cm, width 26cm, depth 14.5cm Candelabra: Height 31.5cm, width 21cm, depth 9cm This char...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu

Large 19th Century French Mantel Clock by Gervais
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very impressive good quality 19th century French gilded ormolu, bronze and white marble mantel clock. Having scrolling foliate and ribbon decoration, two putti carrying the eight d...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Grandfather Clock
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Late 19th century French Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted parquetry longcase grandfather clock. Surmounted an ormolu figure of a classical seated lady holding a globe, circa ...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Three-piece French porcelain and gilt bronze clock set
Located in London, GB
Three-piece French porcelain and gilt bronze clock set French, late 19th Century Clock: Height 27cm, width 36.5cm, depth 12cm Candelabra: Height 33cm, width 20cm, depth 11.5cm This fine three-piece clock set is by Henri Picard, one of the leading producers of luxury bronze...
Category

19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

French Ormolu Mantel Clock by Victor Paillard
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A superb 19th century French gilt bronze figural mantel clock by Victor Paillard (1805-1886). The urn-shaped case with pomegranate finial, flanked by classical allegorical figures. ...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Antique French Gilt Bronze and Rouge Marble Clock Set
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fine 19th century French gilt bronze mounted Rouge marble 3-piece figural clock set Clock: Height: 19.5" Width: 10.5" Candelabras: Height: 22.5" Width: 9"
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Imposing 19th Century French Ormolu Clock Garniture 29"(73cm) high
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A large and impressive, very good quality French gilded ormolu clock garniture. The clock supported by a pair of Caryatids, decorated with swags and classical motifs, four bevelled g...
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1860s French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

French Mantle Clock Garniture in the Louis XVI Manner
Located in London, GB
Constructed in gilt bronze and decorated with champleve´ enamel; the candelabra have toupie feet supporting the shaped circular bases, on which winged cherubs hold two armed candle a...
Category

1880s French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu

Gilt bronze garniture set
Located in Atlanta, GA
Very fine gilt bronze Rococo style garniture set depicting frolicking cherubs and a satyr. The clock is 31 inches high and 24 inches wide. The candelabra...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Louis XV Style Ormolu-Mounted Tortoiseshell Clock and Barometer Set by Gleizes
Located in London, GB
Gilt-bronze and Tortoiseshell Clock and Barometer set by Gleizes French, 19th Century Height 115cm, width 30cm, depth 7cm In the Louis XV style, t...
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19th Century French Rococo Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Louis XV Style Imari Mantle Clock Garniture
Located in Montreal, QC
Louis XV style gilt bronze and porcelain Imari mantel clock and garniture.
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

A Palatial 19th Century French Second Empire Ormolu Mounted Bronze Garniture Set
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An Palatial 19th Century French Second Empire Ormolu Mounted Bronze and Green Marble Three Piece Garniture Set circa 1820. Origin: France Measures: Clock Height 32" Width 21" Dept...
Category

19th Century French Empire Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Ormolu

Portico clock
Located in Atlanta, GA
Superb gilt bronze portico clock signed M. Morer, Rue Dauphine, Paris. L Dalton signed by hand on the pendulum.
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

19th Century French Sevres Style Figural Garniture Clock Set
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This excuisite 3-piece 19th century French ormolu mounted porcelain clock set comprising a central clock and a pair of flanking candelabra. The clock in urn shape form over a gilt br...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Garniture set
Located in Atlanta, GA
Very fine three piece garniture set, of gilt bronze and Rouge Griotte marble, the clock face signed Thiebaut Freres. The candelabra are 35 inches in heig...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Antique Figural Clock
Located in Atlanta, GA
Magnificent gilt bronze clock signed Barbadienne founder, rouge Royale marble base.
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Large Clock Garniture Signed Houdon
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An exceptional large 19th century French figural clock set after a model by Jean Antoine Houdon. Mounted with a large bronze model of a cupid holding a gilt bow and arrow, upon a naturalistic base with flowers and doves, supported on a rouge marble and ormolu mounted circular base with inset clock. Each candelabra modeled with a sitting putti holding a branch with two lights in each hand, raised upon a circular ormolu mounted rouge marble base. Signed: Houdon, circa 1860 Dimesions: Clock Height 36? (91 cm) Width 15? (38 cm) Depth 20? (20 cm) Candelabra Height 26? (66 cm) Width 12? (30 cm) Depth 9? (22 cm) Jean-Antoine Houdon a French neoclassical portrait...
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Ormolu

Biedermeier Period Wood and Gilt Clock
Located in Montreal, QC
Austrian Biedermeier period gilt and polychromed wood clock. Chiseled gold Swiss movement, signed: P.Francois a' Nion.
Category

19th Century Austrian Biedermeier Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Figural Clock
Located in Atlanta, GA
Gilt bronze musical cherubs figural clock.
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Signed French Louis XVI Mantle Clock
Located in New York, NY
A French white marble and gilt bronze mantel clock. Signed A. Paris on face.
Category

19th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

Louis XV bronze pendulum clock “Pendule au Sanglier”
Located in HAARLEM, NL
An extremely rare and important splendid Louis XV bronze pendulum clock “Pendule au Sanglier”, with half hour/hour self strike and musical movement with 9 tunes that activates on the...
Category

Early 18th Century French Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu

Antique Pair French Cloisonne Champlevé Alabaster Ormolu Gilt Bronze Vase Urns
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An Exceptionally Stylish Pair of French Bronze Dore and Champleve Cloisonne twin handle Vases of outstanding quality and compact size. Third quarter of the Nineteenth Century. This...
Category

Late 19th Century French Victorian Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Alabaster, Bronze, Ormolu

Ormolu and Sevres Porcelain Antique French Clock by Achille Brocot
Located in Belper, Derbyshire
A magnificent ormolu (finely gilded bronze) and Sèvres style porcelain clock by renown maker Achille Brocot. It is mounted with delicately painted Sèvres style porcelain with a pompadour rose pink ground. The urn to the top features Marie Leczinska, Queen of France and wife of Louis XV. To the sides are portraits of his mistresses, Madame du Barry and Madame de Pompadour, delicately painted on porcelain orbs...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Louis XVI Neo-Classical Style Figural Ormolu Clock by Charpentier & Cie
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
This large and impressive clock is by the renown French Bronzier Lemerle Charpentier & Cie. It features Classical maidens holding a large urn form case surmounted by Cupid with his ...
Category

Late 18th Century French Neoclassical Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Large Antique French Ormolu Drum Head Clock with Lions Masks
By Pierre-Antoine Foullet
Located in Belper, Derbyshire
A large and stunning original antique French drum head clock. Beautifully made in finely gilded bronze, it is of Neoclassical design. The movement is mounted...
Category

19th Century European Neoclassical Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Large Napoleon III Clock in Black Belgian Marble and Gilt Bronze by Raingo Frère
Located in BARSAC, FR
Large and very elegant Napoleon III period mantel clock in black Belgian marble and rich ornamentation in finely chiseled gilt bronze. Wire movement signed by the house Raingo Frère...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Belgian Black Marble, Ormolu

Napoleon III Clock in Gilt Bronze Signed Benoît Félix Richond in Paris
By Richond Frères
Located in BARSAC, FR
Magnificent Napoleon III clock in finely chiseled gilt bronze with a lush decoration inspired by Louis XVI. Enamelled dial signed Richond, Japy Frères movement in Paris. Superb original gilding. Benoît Félix Richond, born November 12...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

French Marble, Onyx, Enamel and Ormolu Pedestal Clock
Located in New Orleans, LA
This beautiful French vitrine clock styled in the Moroccan taste is an exquisite work of artistry and craftsmanship. Featuring a clock, thermometer and barometer, no detail has been overlooked regarding its functionality, design and construction. This magnificent clock rests on four bracket feet with gadrooned ormolu bases atop a square red marble plinth...
Category

Late 19th Century French Moorish Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Onyx, Marble, Enamel, Ormolu

French Early 19th Century Louis XVI Style Ormolu, Marble and Giltwood Clock
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A stunning French early 19th century Louis XVI st. ormolu, white Carrara marble and giltwood clock. The clock is raised by a fine giltwood base which mimics the most decorative shape...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Carrara Marble, Ormolu

Antique French Sevres Porcelain and Ormolu Clock
Located in Belper, Derbyshire
A fine and stunning original antique French boudoir clock. It is beautifully made of ormolu (finely gilded bronze), very well modelled and...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Palatial & Rare Napoleon III French Ormolu and Patinated Bronze Clock, Detouche
Located in New York, NY
A palatial, extremely rare, and important Napoleon III French ormolu and patinated bronze regulateur de parquet clock, by Louis-Constantin Detouche, Paris, circa 1850. The clock case made form the finest French ormolu, with 2 very large patinated bronze seated putti The white enamel dial Signed C. DETOUCHE/ PARIS. The clock movement is numbered 7064 and stamped with maker’s stamps C. Detouche RUE st. MARTIN and C. DETOUCHE 158 R. St MARTIN 160, with medaille d’argent stamp, on a serpentine part ebonized mahogany plinth. At over six feet tall, the present clock is impressive in scale and rare in Detouche’s oeuvre. While other large clocks were produced by the firm, few of this scale are so overtly decorative and usually incorporate greater mechanical complication. For example, a gilt bronze astronomical regulator clock...
Category

19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

French Ormolu Cartel Clock, 19th Century by H&F Paris
Located in Cypress, CA
Magnificent quality 19th century French Louis XV style ormolu cartel clock with a mechanism signed by H&F Paris. The intricate ormolu body of the cartel clock is beautifully deco...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu, Enamel

French Rouge Marble Gilt and Patinated Bronze Mantel Clock by Alfred Beurdeley
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A French Napoleon III Period Rouge Marble Gilt & Patinated Bronze Mantel Clock Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley Movement marked: J. Lefebvre Fils Paris & Numbered1938 Movement stamped: Medaille De Bronze J. Marti & Cie & Numbered 92 Dial signed: A. Beurdeley Fila, Paris France, Circa 1875 Dimensions: Height: 24" (61cm), Width: 22" (56cm) Depth: 11" (28cm) Excellent Working Condition Biography French — Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley was a Parisian cabinetmaker who specialized in the manufacture of luxurious French furnishings...
Category

1870s French Napoleon III Antique Ormolu Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Antique Ormolu Clocks for Sale on 1stDibs

Antique ormolu clocks and other decorative objects can be incorporated into a variety of spaces, and while demand for the material and/or technique was at its peak in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries — older French ormolu clocks are especially coveted today — ormolu is still widely loved by contemporary designers and collectors.

What is ormolu?

Ormolu is a brilliant form of decorative trickery. To the untrained eye, ormolu clocks, jewelry boxes and other ormolu furniture and decor look like they're made of solid gold. But those in the know recognize ormolu — or elaborate bronze gilding — as having been essential to French design in the 18th and 19th centuries as a cornerstone of the neoclassical and Empire styles.

“Most commonly, ormolu refers to a bronze object that has been covered with gold, typically 18 karat or 24 karat,” explains Jamie Sinai, director of the antiques specialist Mayfair Gallery, in London. “For that reason, ormolu is sometimes called gilt bronze or, in French, bronze doré. Strictly speaking, however, the term ormolu also denotes the technique of applying gold to a metal.”

“The word comes from the French or moulu, which translates as ‘ground or powdered gold’ — the form the gold takes before it is applied to a metal surface.”

From the court of King Louis XVI to that of Napoleon I, the French elite snapped up furniture mounted with ormolu, as well as sconces, candelabra and table lamps made from the material. 

If you're looking to bring a touch of this 19th-century pizzazz to your desk, an antique ormolu desk clock is a decorative touch that blends ornament and functionality. The clamor for desk clocks arose as the Industrial Revolution transitioned labor from outdoors to indoors, and allowed for the mass production of clock parts in factories. Naturally, elaborate designs soon followed and clocks could be found made by artisans and luxury houses like Cartier. Indeed, an ormolu clock is an object to be admired in your home as much as it is a necessary functional element. (This is part of the reason clocks make such superb collectibles!)

Today, antiques collectors and interior designers seek out the finest in antique ormolu clocks and continue to prize ormolu for its extraordinary craftsmanship and history-infused glamour. 

“This wondrous material was highly sought after in France as the ultimate luxury. It magically resembled solid gold and sparkled under candlelight,” says Sinai.

Find antique ormolu desk clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks and other furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

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