ART DECO ONYX CLOCK

ART DECO ONYX CLOCK

ANTIQUE ITEM:1920’s

Epitomising the 1920’s period, from the shape, the material, the font, the craftsmanship…the well figured onyx has inset glazed porcelain numerals around the brass clock face.

The Onyx is a glowing golden brown, which is enhanced by the brass beading around the porcelain numbers and by the clock face ground.

French clock marked JUST 4127, and that it was retailed by HARDY BROS LTD.

It stands on a stepped base with wear to the corners. Key inside.

Model code: ANT MI LotCL-11:61E

Dimensions: 23 x 11.5 deep x 23 H

To see other Art Deco clocks in stock, please click on the links below:

ART DECO MANTEL CLOCK

Historic notes:

HARDY BROS – AUSTRALIA

Arriving in Australia in 1853 on board the ship “Plantagenet” from Nottinghamshire in England, John Hardy, aged 22, commenced trading as Hardy Brothers from his rooms in Jamison Street, Sydney. Before leaving England he had formed a partnership with his elder brother Samuel, a watchmaker and jeweller with shops in St Ives and Huntington, who provided the initial stock.

It is not entirely clear whether it was the same family as the existing partnership in Birmingham.
During 1855 John Hardy opened a showroom in Hunter Street, Sydney, which became the home of Hardy Bros for over 80 years.

Hardy Bros is still in existence.  (The firm was under the control of the Hardy family until 1980). It achieved a high reputation as watchmakers, jewellers, silversmiths and opticians in Australia in the second part of the nineteenth century.

Hardy Bros engaged outside craftsmen to make presentation silverware and jewellery. From the 1900s it also imported a wide range of goods bearing hallmarks of the London, Birmingham and Sheffield assay office.

The business in Sydney was very successful and Hardy Bros is credited with the introduction of electroplated silverware, mostly imported, and silver cutlery to Australia in around 1860.

As a result of their success, Hardy Brothers opened a showroom at 116 Queen Street, Brisbane in 1894, followed in 1918 by the opening of the Melbourne showroom located at 298 Collins Street.

John’s other brother, Arthur Morley Hardy, appears as one of the owners of the building purchased in Brisbane in 1894. In 1929 Hardy Bros received the Royal Warrant from His Majesty King George V as goldsmiths and jewellers. This entitled them to use the Royal coat of arms in connection with their business.