Guilmet Novelty Desk Timepiece in the Shape of a Knights Helmet

A fantastic desk clock made by the great novelty clockmaker and inventor Andre Romain Guilmet. This desktop timepiece has an eight day movement with a platform escapement with a silvered roman chapter ring and gilded centre with blued steel hands behind bevelled glass held in a gilded bezel.

The case in the form of a medieval knight’s helmet is silver plated with ormolu mounts in the form of ostrich feathers with a visor that rises to display the clock dial, whole mounted on a rouge marble plinth sitting on a gilded brass base plate. The whole case is beautifully made with incredible attention to detail having gilded and knurled visor knuts and chin strap hooks complementing the authentic armoury appearance.

Our attribution to Guilmet is based on the distinctive silvered dial with gilded centre combined with the gothicised hands found on many on Guilmet’s clocks (p.263 Fig.22-23 A-D ‘Mystery, Novelty & Fantasy Clocks’ by Derek Roberts) as well as the fact that the movement is stamped CH. VNCE Paris 38693, Charles Vincenti is a clockmaker known to have worked for S.Marti & Cie who would have provided the basic movement to Guilmet. The overall appearance use of materials and execution lead us to believe this is a rare Guilmet model perhaps even a one off commission.

André Romain Philéas Guilmet was an obsessive inventor who took out many patents for designs, both horological and others. It was Guilmet who in 1868, in collaboration with Edouard Meyer, first placed a driving chain on a bicycle, set below the seat to drive the rear wheels, and so produced the first bicycle powered in the method that is standard on all machines.

Guilmet is recorded as not just an horloger, but also a bijoutier (jeweller) and doreur (gilder). Under the entry for Doreurs in the 1861 almanach he is described thus: horloger, bijouterie, orfeverie argentes de la maison Christolfe, Fbg-St. Martin, 103 et 108; an horologer, jeweller and silversmith supplying the well-known Parisian jewellers and silversmiths, the Maison Christolfe; the additional entry under Horlogers describing him as a clockmaker only. Guilmet was an active member of the Chambre Syndicale, along with A.H. Rodanet, Paul Garnier and other well-known horologists. (Derek Roberts).

All of our clocks come with a 2 year guarantee, all of our clocks are overhauled and sympathetically restored, all of our clocks are authentic and supplied in good original condition.