The ‘Napoleon Hat’, or more correctly, Tambour, mechanical mantel clock was first created in the early 20th century. So called because the shape of the box somewhat resembles the famous hat worn by Napoleon Bonaparte, they were made in large numbers until the 1950s, with some still being made as late as the late 1960s. it was oak or sometimes mahogany veneer over a thin layer, stained in various shades of natural wood. The wood can be finished with a varnish or a natural wax. Usually the dial was silver-plated brass, with Arabic or Roman numerals, surrounded by a brass bezel, but later watches had chrome-plated bezels. Mechanical movements were mainly German-made, with a small number made in England. Miniature versions are also available and are often made from a solid block of wood, carved and drilled to accept a much smaller round clockwork.

Full-size clocks can be between 16 and 22 inches wide, with a height of up to 13 inches, so they can make a very imposing display on your dresser or mantel. They vary in style, from fairly simple to highly ornate. There are also three varieties of watch movements, easily identified by the number of locks on the dial. The basic watch movement does not strike the hours and only has a keyhole. STRIKING watches have two locks and chime every hour and a half on a wound gong. CHIMING clocks have three keyholes and chime every hour and quarter hour on metal rods. Chime clocks typically play the Westminster chime (i.e. the same tune as Big Ben in Westminster, London) on 4 or 5 chime stems. More complex versions can be made to ring the Whittington and St. Michael bells, requiring up to 9 bell rods. Note that a clock that does not chime or chime properly is called a CLOCK, to distinguish it from a CLOCK, which commonly tells time and announces the hours on a gong or bell. Typically, these vintage clocks use a pendulum to regulate the speed of the mechanism, but later models may use a balance wheel which, similar to a wristwatch movement, features a small escapement wheel that “ticks”. ” very fast. The original pendulum clocks have a heavy weight that oscillates around 1 ‘tick-tock’ per second, very pleasing to the ear!

Miniature clock movements are wound from behind by means of a folding handle. Simply turn the handle clockwise until it won’t turn any more. If the watch is in good condition, it will now run for up to 36 hours. A full size Napoleon hat watch in good working order will run up to 8 days between winds. To wind full-size watches, you must open the hinged glass and bezel to access the locks and insert the key into each lock, turning clockwise until it turns no more. The springs on these watches are powerful and will require some effort to fully wind them. The springs are designed to be fully wound each time. Note that there is no such thing as an ‘overloaded’ clock – THIS IS A MYTH. If a fully wound watch does not work, then it is either broken, not set correctly, or needs service.

Although these Napoleon hat clocks were made in large numbers, many have been lost over the years, so each one has a rarity value. If you are lucky enough to own any of these fine pieces, you can be sure they will be a treasure to behold in the future!