American tall-case clocks are generally offered in Americana sales. The category’s auction record, $803,200, came at Sotheby’s in January 2004, set by a circa 1775 mahogany tall-case clock with a dial inscribed by Paul Rimbault of London and a case detailed by Nicholas Bernard and Martin Jugiez of Philadelphia, who, says Sotheby’s American expert Leslie Keno, “represent the apex of American design and carving.” (Transatlantic collaboration was common in Colonial times.) The clock’s complicated British-made movement, featuring eight melodies, boosted the price. “It’s like buying a Mercedes-Benz,” says Kirt Crump, a dealer in American clocks with a gallery in Madison, Connecticut, who nonetheless seeks out the work of Rimbault and his British brethren.

Beyond the movement, the case is also an important determinant of price. By and large, the ornamentation reflects the aesthetics of the time and location of manufacture. “Even if the clock is not signed, you can generally determine when and where, within 30 miles, it was made, judging by the characteristics of the case,” says Delaney. When a prime example by a top craftsman comes up for sale, collectors and dealers take notice. In January 2002 at Christie’s, for instance, the American antiques dealer George Samaha handed over a then-record $666,000 for a circa 1755 Queen Anne block-and-shell carved Newport clock whose case was attributed to the school of Job Townsend Sr., a member of the renowned Rhode Island furniture-making family.

A third factor in valuation is country of origin. British and Continental clock enthusiasts at the highest level tend to collect pieces from many countries, likely concentrating on those reflecting their own heritage. Hills notes the “strong following for 18th-century American tall-case clocks among collectors of American furniture.” Delaney adds that comparative scarcity plays a role, too. “With the exception of clocks made for the British nobility, early American tall-case clocks are generally worth more than their British counterparts, as there are fewer of them,” he says.

According to Hills, most tall-case clocks that were made outside major European cities, which make up about 80 percent of items available, are undervalued. “You can buy an 18th-century, 30-hour, simply made tall-case clock by a provincial maker for as little as $1,000,” says Christie’s Collingridge, “and even a nice eight-day mahogany example with a brass dial for $10,000.”

For those looking to buy a tall-case clock, experts recommend choosing a good example by a lesser maker over a poor example by a master—and one “ideally with as little change to the original as possible,” says Eerdmans. Hills notes that auction houses tend to offer clocks that are not restored, while dealers will guarantee that theirs are in working condition. Dealers such as London’s John Carlton-Smith and Anthony Woodburn of East Sussex do, however, stress originality of the clock movement and consider wonderfully patinated, untouched cases the hallmarks of their stocks. Both feature tall-case timepieces by such 18th- and 19th-century masters as George Graham, Thomas Cartwright and Joseph Windmills. “It is a good idea to buy from someone who knows as much about the engine as the bodywork. You wouldn’t want a car you couldn’t drive out of your garage,” says the New York dealer Jonathan Snellenburg, who carries an international selection of timepieces in his inventory. “If the clock has been cleaned, oiled and installed properly, it should be fairly trouble free.”

Even with the recent rise in interest, prices for antique tall-case clocks are still relatively modest, considering the complexity hidden inside each one. “Unlike a bronze or a painting,” says Collingridge, “what you see is most definitely not all you get.”

"Old Reliables" originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2008 Table of Contents.