Vintage Smiths Floating Balance Mantel Clock Mid Century Mechanical Gong Service

Apollo is a wonderfully stylish British Smiths mantel clock from the company's mid-century floating-balance era, combining traditional mechanical clockmaking with a distinctly modern design.

The most striking feature is the superb silvered radial dial, fitted with sharply faceted gilt hour markers and matching sculptural hands. The dial catches the light beautifully and shifts from cool silver to warmer champagne tones depending on the angle, giving Apollo genuine Space Age character indicative of the period.

The sweeping wooden case is equally distinctive, with flowing curved sides and a warm brown finish. The bezel has been carefully cleaned back to its original warm brass appearance, which now ties beautifully with the gilt markers and hands.

Apollo is powered by a genuine Smiths eight-day mechanical movement fitted with the company's distinctive floating-balance escapement. Unlike a conventional pendulum clock, the balance oscillates rapidly and produces a quicker, more even ticking sound which can sound surprisingly similar to an early quartz clock, despite being entirely mechanical.

The clock strikes the hours on a traditional coiled gong, giving a clear mechanical note with much more character than an electronic or quartz reproduction.

This is an unusual and very attractive example of Smiths' post-war design language, where traditional English clockmaking began to adopt cleaner, more futuristic styling.

Apollo has been sympathetically restored and fully serviced by Mahn & Co.

• Mechanical movement stripped, cleaned and inspected
• Floating-balance escapement carefully hand-cleaned and checked
• Mainspring lubricated with Novostar oil; pivots lubricated with synthetic clock oil
• Movement reassembled and regulated
• Timekeeping tested
• Gong strike tested for correct operation
• Case cleaned and sympathetically revived
• Brass bezel carefully cleaned
• Dial and original hands gently preserved

Apollo presents extremely well while still retaining the honest marks and light wear expected of an original vintage clock, as shown in the photographs. The case has not been over-restored and retains its original character. The dial remains particularly impressive, with strong radial figuring and attractive applied gilt markers.

As with all vintage mechanical clocks, minor variation in timekeeping can occur depending on position and environment, and occasional regulation may be required after transport.