Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: This clock is, as far as I know, at least 50 years old.

I first saw it in 1968.

My first wife's grandmother owned it.

She always referred to it as "my Russian clock."

APPRAISER: How long have you owned it?

GUEST: Oh, I've had it over 40 years.

APPRAISER: 40 years.

Yeah?

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And have you ever seen it working?

GUEST: No.

I have not.

APPRAISER: It's actually an American clock.

It was made by the Ansonia Clock Company in Brooklyn, New York.

Common versions look like buildings.

This would be more of their fancier version, for sure.

Uh, much more complex in this design.

The Ansonia Clock Company made a line that they called Swingers.

And it gets its name because when this clock's operating, this pendulum moves back and forth like that.

Now, you say that it's not working, but I understand that you don't have a key to wind it.

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: And I bet you if you wound this, it would actually operate.

This particular figure is Fortuna, goddess of fortune.

And she's one of a series that Ansonia made.

She is the largest of the group and features the larger ball, four-and-a-half-inch ball, and she was made circa 1900.

The mechanism is actually enclosed in there.

Some people call these mystery clocks because the mystery is how does it actually work if it's moving back and forth?

It's a fantastic example.

The statue itself is a combination of bronze and there's probably some white metal.

It has a patinated finish on it, which is in very good condition.

The ball is-- are brass.

This is actually the original color here.

This one's been cleaned off.

This is the hand that belongs on the face and it has been broken.

This is not a big deal in terms of restoration.

GUEST: Oh, that's good.

That's good news.

APPRAISER: In today's market, this clock would probably sell somewhere, uh, in a retail setting, in the $3,500 price range, but because it needs a little bit of work, the wholesale price for, uh, something like this in an auction setting or at a wholesale setting in a shop, uh, would probably be in the, closer to the $2,500 price range.

GUEST: Oh, that's excellent, that's excellent.

Now that you've got... told me that it would be easy to fix, I'll have it taken care of and put it back on the shelf and display it proudly.