Banjo Clocks

If you are looking for a unique looking clock the vintage Banjo clock it the way to go. While many antique clocks come from America. It was invented by Simon Willard. This clock is quite rare. There are only 4,000 true Willard banjo clocks. So if you love vintage clocks, you need to find a Banjo Clock. You can find an actual Antique Banjo Clock for sale on EBay. Because the Banjo Clock is so rare they generally sell for some where in the lower thousands. This is a beautiful clock with a round top and large bottom.

The banjo clock was just one of many groundbreaking timepieces to come out of the Willard workshops, but it is perhaps the one that has left the greatest legacy. Simon Willard himself, began making clocks when he was just a young boy of 13 and he didn't retire until he was 90 years old.

The banjo clock was what he always called his 'patent timepiece', but he also produced such models as the turret, gallery, church, and grandfather clocks. Experts believe that Willard designed the banjo clock with the idea of creating a clock for the working man who had only small income. It was a drastically different clock than the stately tall case clocks he had been making.
He used brass to fashion a modest but highly accurate movement system. The banjo-like case was an invention of the necessity of crafting a simple yet practical covering, and its resemblance to a banjo was a mere coincidence. The shape was simply intended to be the ideal size foe mounting on the wall and keeping the price of the clock at a reasonable $30.00.

Willard made his first prototype banjo clock in the 1790`s. He was a highly skilled artisan, but he had little knowledge of marketing and commerce. It was only after his close aquaintence President Jefferson finally persuaded him, that even bothered to patent the thing! Willard`s first name for the clock model was the non-descriptive 'Improved Patent Timepiece'. Despite the lack of a flashy name or marketing, the practical design was instantly popular with the general public. It soon inspired many copycats and counterfeiters making similar models, but Willard did little to stop them beyond refusing to socialize with those who stole his design. There was soon a whole cottage industry of clock making shops building their own banjo clock inspired models and illicitly cashing in on Willard`s innovation.
The fakers could never top the quality of a true Willard model though. All 4,000 of the banjo clocks made by Willard himself were works of masterful proportion and top grade materials. The true Willard`s can be identified by their acorn finials, their molded brackets, their brass side boys along the neck, and the inclusion of the inscription S.Willard`s Patent.

Simon`s brother Aaron was a master craftsman in his own right and he also produced many finely-made banjo clocks. The models crafted by Aaron are notable for their more ornate styling and pendulums which feature scenic sculpture work. Simon`s models were much plainer, down to the more simple finials he used.
Their was a really broad range of cases and ornamentation which varied by the maker who produced a given model. Aaron Willard himself create a variation which was known as the lyre clock. The lyre model incorporated elaborate elements of the then fashionable Directoire furniture style. It was trendy and yet classically artistic at the same time. He outsourced the case making to local craftsmen who were known to be highly skilled at carving, gilding, and ornate ornamentation.