Pictures

D&A brand medium Drop Octagon "Regulator" - Korean/Chinese Marriage, c. modern

This is an attractive Korean 31-day medium drop octagon "Regulator" with the D&A brand on the label. No other information is available about the maker. The back of the clock is labeled made in Korea. I estimate that it was made in the late 20th century. Of course it is not a true regulator.

The clock came in for service because it had quit running. I saw that it was a Korean clock which are usually repairable so I agreed to service it. I was surprised to find inside that someone had replaced the Korean movement with a Chinese movement that didn't quite fit right. Having heard awful things about Chinese clock movements I had never before accepted one for service, so this one would be the first.

The movement had a lot of dried up oil, probably the original oil from the factory, but nothing was broken. There are a few unusual but not unique design features but after removing some e-clips disassembly was straight forward. The 31-day springs are contained in sturdy steel barrels with a brass-like plating. The main wheel serves as the cover of the barrel and is held only by a simple twist-lock attachment(see the last picture). The design works quite well but removal of the spring can be difficult with some spring winders. My spring winder has an attachment for just this sort of spring so removal was no problem.

The strike speed governor is a true centrifugal brake, which I did not expect to find on an inexpensive clock movement. The half-deadbeat escapement has the crutch attached with a loose slip-fit bushing that is slotted to accept a wire spring clip. The clip provides just the right amount of friction to allow the pendulum to self-center and run in beat when the pendulum is released from the side of the pendulum drop box. The pivots are fairly fine and appeared to be in perfect condition. I didn't test to see if they were hard. The movement plates are a bit on the thin side and the position of the somewhat flimsy aluminum crutch on the back of the movement is a bit unusual.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that after cleaning this clock turned out to be a very strong running clock and a good time keeper. I don't know if all Chinese movements are as well designed as this one or not, but I certainly didn't find anything here to fault any more than in any other modern movement.


Not for sale
(returned to owner after service)

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Unless otherwise credited, the pictures and information on this page are the property of Robert H Croswell & Greenfield Clock shop, 4180 Main Street, Trappe, MD 21673 and may not be sold or used for commercial purposes without permission. © 2016

email:  bobby@greenfieldclockshop.com