Schatz Std. 400 Day Clock, 49R Narrow Movement, Made in 1953

This 400 day clock looks like a regular Schatz standard. However, it has an unusual, narrow movement.

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A brief history: Through the early 1950s, standard size 400 day clocks had movements of about the same width. Then, someone discovered that if the movement was narrower, the import duty was less, as the movement was small enough to be considered a watch instead of a clock!

Kundo, one of the major makers, used narrow movements with “wings”, (brass strips) added to the back plate to make the narrow movement look wide. They omitted the wings after a few years.

Schatz made narrow movements, with a one-piece wing assembly on the back plate to make it look wide. Soon, Schatz resumed making the wide movement. I don’t know why.

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Above: left – Mounting of the narrow movement. Right – Mounting of the regular Schatz standard movement.

The Schatz narrow movement is taller than the wide movement (3 5/8 inches tall for the narrow, 3 7/16 inches tall for the wide). To make the pendulum height correct, the narrow movement stands on two thin brass washers, and the wide movement stands on two brass posts (see photos above).

Another unusual feature of this example is the extra (auxiliary) mainspring and barrel. This was Schatz’s attempt to equalize the power to the escapement as the clock ran down. It provided no benefit and was soon discontinued.

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Above: Left – gears in the movement. The auxiliary mainspring barrel is in the front center. Right – rear of movement with the attached “wing” to make the movement look wide.

Another unusual feature are the jewel bearings for the anchor pivots (most Schatz standard 400 day clocks have no jewels). The jewels may give a slight reduction in friction, but the sharp edge of the jewel sometimes wears a groove in the pivot.

See more photos.

Repair job 6117. I polished the pivots and replaced the suspension spring. This movement has “49R”  in the circle on the back. The date on the back is 7 53 (July 1953).

The Schatz narrow movement is uncommon, I see one only every year or two, out of dozens of Schatz standard 400 day clocks that I repair.

 


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5 comments

  1. I have a Schatz 400 Day clock, Model 49R, 2 jewels unadjustable. It also has R R and 10 53 on the backside of the frame. Can you e-mail me the instructions for this clock? How is the correct time set on this clock? This was my parent’s clock that I just got back. Call me at 319-290-0698 if you have any questions. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this clock.

  2. Cathy,

    The older ones were windup, and the newer ones use a battery and don’t need winding. I repair the windup ones. The battery-operated ones usually aren’t worth repairing.

  3. Thanks for the info on this clock! I recently picked this up at a storage unit sale for $1. But it doesn’t work. It had a AA battery in it that corroded. I tried to clean out the battery compartment as best I could but it still doesn’t work. Does it need to be wound? Does it need a key? I have the packaging for it but no key. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

    Thanks!
    Cathy

  4. Hello, I recently inherited a clock identical in appearance to this one. The pendulum is broken off and I do not have a key to wind the clock. It is in great condition otherwise. It was a gift from my grandfather to my grandmother. Is it worth repairing and in good condition, how much are they valued at?

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