Ansonia La Cette Clock, ca. 1905

Appraised on: July 30, 2005

Appraised in: Bismarck, North Dakota

Appraised by: John Delaney

Category: Clocks & Watches

Episode Info: Bismarck, Hour 1 (#1010)

Originally Aired: April 10, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:38)

GUEST: I inherited it from my father, who inherited it from his mother, my grandmother. I've had it for about maybe 30 years.

APPRAISER: And do you know anything about it?

GUEST: No, except that it was assumed that maybe my grandmother got it as a wedding present, because she had two of them.

APPRAISER: Really?

GUEST: The other one went to my aunt.

APPRAISER: The other one look like this?

GUEST: It was brownish. I don't remember too much about it, except that it was brown.

APPRAISER: Well, the movement was actually made in New York City by the Ansonia Clock Company.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And it's a little unusual in that the case is actually made in Germany. The case would have been brought to this country from Germany, and cased in this country. So it's actually sold as an American clock. And we know that because it says it right here on the back.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: It says "Royal Bonn Germany." Now, that's a big deal on a clock like this. A lot of people who collect these types of china clocks or porcelain cases look for this particular stamp. And what that means is that this case is decorated a little bit finer than the American versions. It's advertised in the first Ansonia catalogs as being made in 1905. And this particular clock, they make a big deal out of it being decorated in what is called new-age tints. And I think that refers to the really brilliant coloring of the decoration here. You'll also notice that it has a porcelain dial. Porcelain dials don't fade, and as a result, always stay really a nice, white, bone color. And the numerals really stand out quite nicely from that. This actually has a model name. And collectors of this type of clock collect the models. This particular one is called La Cette. It's a French name; I'm probably butchering the pronunciation. You said this clock isn't working correctly when we spoke earlier.

GUEST: It was working until my husband was winding it, and he felt a certain tension, and that was the chime part.

APPRAISER: Well, one of the other issues with this clock is condition. This particular clock doesn't have any chips on it and as a result is in very nice condition. And when I looked in the back, I noticed that the mainspring was broken on the strike side. If you were to spend $150 or $200 to get that repaired and used the clock every day, it would add value to the clock, because it would make it easier to sell. A clock like this would probably sell for about $1,200 in my shop.

GUEST: Oh, really? (chuckles) Well, now, isn't that something? And my kids used to laugh at me every time I took it down to the bathroom in the basement when there was a tornado warning.

APPRAISER: Really? Well, it was well worth doing that, wasn't it?

GUEST: Yeah. Oh, I'm jumping.