The passing of time, the ticking of a clock, a frame, a particular style easily recognised by the connoisseur: timepieces are your passion. Enthusiast or collector of beautiful, old and modern watches, cartel or pendulum clocks of all kinds, you are sure to find what you’re looking for at the different stalls and markets at the Paris Clignancourt St Ouen flea markets.
All you have to do is browse around and tell the stall-holders what you are looking for on the grand theme of timepieces. Or, let yourself be carried away by the beauty of a watch, Empire clock or a Louis XVI style which would look really good on a dresser, period furniture or, for complete contrast, on a piece of modern furniture. Let yourself be tempted by the folly and grandeur of the brands : your eyes will light up at the sight of a Lip, Rolex, Patek, Zenith, Longuine, Omega, Le Coultre watch, or other beautiful timepieces from the makers Bell & Ross or H. Moser.
Don’t hesitate to roam around the stalls in general in the different flea markets in Saint-Ouen Paris. These stall-holders can also propose unusual objects : classic watches, pocket watches, regulator watches, sundials, grandfather clocks, Meissen porceline table clocks, bronze pendulum clocks or other styles completely!
You can find a variety of antique watches and timepieces! Didier Guedj, also an expert in timepieces, welcomes at Dauphine market Paris where he will show you a variety of watches, small jewels of technology that make up his ongoing collection. Stalls 104, 105 and 106
Matthias RICCI – JMWATCH at stall 16 – exhibits several antique watches, pocket watches, clocks big and small by major luxury brands.
At Orcadre (Patrick Mathey-Doret)- Stall 232 - you can find all kinds of watches.
It is in Vernaison market Paris that Riconti Bernard, stall 136 allée 7 (136 avenue Michelet in Saint-Ouen), antiques expert FNEPSA - Federation specialised in art objects - will advise you in the purchase of pendulum clocks, cartel clocks, pocket watches, regulator watches, clocks and mantelpiece ornaments.
Collector's watches, antique canes, goldsmithery in alley 6 - stall 110 bis - Bernard Legrand - open on weekends.
MC Roche - stall 114 alley 7 - offers you a small selection of pocket watches (some of them real jewels), watches, watch chains,...
Nicolas Khan offers you his various watch watches, among others, on stall 47 - alley 1.
François Richard – allée 3, Stall 107 bis inside Vernaison market – is more specialised in what we could call "scientific objects". Don’t hesitate to ask to see one of these famous objects and listen to its story (a rather surprising sundial, solar cannon, etc.).
Rémi Elbaz- antique dealer situated inside Paul Bert-Serpette market at stall 283 allée 3 – offers some unusual objects for sale : sundials, music boxes, pendulum clocks, alarm watches, school watches, regulator watches, table clocks.
Anger Antiquités – Clément Anger – situated at stall 4, Allée 4 inside Paul Bert-Serpette market offers a wide choice of objects : cartel clocks, pendulum clocks, a variety of asian art objects, French or bronze sculptures, antiques from the 18th to the 20th century.
Wander through the alleys in Biron market and look for a barometer, cartel clock, a Louis XVI portico pendulum clock or an Empire clock. Maybe you will find what you’re looking for at Antiquités Arnaud Catel – stalls 57 and 58 Allée 1 – or at Anticomania s stall n°52, 75 ter et 76 - Alley 1 for his collection of clocks, chimney cartel.
Alexandra Antiques is present on stall 50 - Alley 1 and offers you a variety of clocks, fireplace fittings and other objects.
If you damage your collector's watch, don't panic, the Atelier du Temps at Marché Biron (Marché Biron, aisles 1 & 2, stands 97 & 173) can repair your defective precious timepiece. The team of master watchmaker Guillaume Gaulis sells, restores and repairs collector watches. Restoration also involves polishing, a speciality performed by the art polisher Jérémie Benlarbi. Wear, scratches and broken parts hold no secret for the team.
A regulator watch has a different watch-face ; time is segmented and the hours minutes and seconds are on separate dials. Regulator watches were invented by certain professions who wanted to focus on the seconds and minutes of the hour but not the hour itself.
Today a regulator watch is generally divided into 3 parts. The minute hand, which is usually the biggest, is in the centre of the main dial. The hands used to indicate hours and seconds have their own dial and are different in size. The hours subdial is generally at the top and the seconds subdial at the bottom.
A cartel clock is a smaill decorative pendulum clock, attached to the wall (the cartel is the decoration around the dial).
Concerns all objects (pendulum clocks, burning torches, sculptures, etc) which are placed over the mantelpiece. Quite often it is a small clock with two candlestick holders, or a sculpture with two lamps, etc.
The solar cannon was used to chime the hour at 12 noon and to set watches. It consisted of a miniscule cannon on a small stand. As the warm sun passed over it at noon, the concentration of light set light to the small quantity of gunpowder on the cannon.
A Meissen pendulum clock is made of porceline. Royal production at Meissen is the most well-known and can be recognised by two crossed swords marked on its pieces.
