Museum piece
The dark, curved base supports the open-work movement, pendulum and dial. A large opening in the centre of the dial reveals the mechanism. A floral glass dome by Elme Glasbruk sits above the clock. Frosted flowers, leaves and tendrils partly overlap the pendulum. A blue textile cord decorates the dome’s seat.
Electromagnetic impulses keep the pendulum moving. A coil on the pendulum passes over a curved permanent magnet; a contact closes the circuit at the right moment. The pendulum’s motion is transferred mechanically to the hands. The movement operates at 1.5 volts.
Manufacturer
Boulogne-sur-Seine · Île-de-France · France
Bulle-Clock originated in the collaboration between clockmaker Maurice Favre-Bulle and physicist Marcel André-Moulin. Before the First World War, they developed a prototype of an electromagnetically driven pendulum clock. After André-Moulin's death, Favre-Bulle continued the work. In 1918, he filed a patent application jointly with André-Moulin's widow; the patent was granted in 1920. That same year, serial production began at the Compagnie Générale des Appareils Horo-Électriques. Production ceased during the Second World War and resumed in 1946. It ended after Favre-Bulle's death in 1954. An estimated 300,000 to 330,000 clocks were made in various case designs.