Bulle Art Deco electric mantel clock 1920s

One of the earliest of electric clocks available for domestic use, this early 1920s Bulle mantel clock is in an Art Deco styled case made from highly figured Nero portoro marble. The marble is inset with red marble lightening flashes and a border of rust-orange to match the veining. Nero Portoro is a black marble sourced from Italy.

Maurice Favre-Bulle designed this electromagnetic mechanism and patented it in 1920. The pendulum consists of a coil which passes over the curved bar magnet with three poles (North at either end and South in the centre, or vice cersa). As an electrical current is briefly imparted to the coil, it is attracted towards one end of the bar. It then naturally falls back to (and over-runs) the centre, when the impulse is again imparted to attract it to the other end. During the period 1920 to 1952 it is estimated that production was in the region of 300,000 clocks.

This clock is Bulle’s model Xam, illustrated in their 1925 Grande Prix catalogue.

It is photographed here in its pre-restored condition. We will restore it in our workshops in Little Chalfont and it will be sold with a 3-year guarantee.

• Width: 33cms (13 inches)
• Height: 24cms (9 1/4 inches)
• Depth: 11.5cms (4 1/2inches)