Commonwealth of Australia vintage mechanical alarm clock

c. 1940 - 1955
Overview

Commonwealth of Australia vintage mechanical alarm clock. It features a cylindrical, heavy-duty plated metal case with a polished finish. This has a C-shaped carry handle at the top, and two decorative angled metal legs towards the front and curved metal stand at the back at the bottom.
It has an inset circular, aged cream face with bold, black Arabic numerals (1–12) and thick, black metal hour and minute hands inside a broad, cream coloured border. There are some flecks of paint or metal on the lower egde of this border.
There are two smaller auxiliary dials integrated into the face. The top sub-dial is used specifically for setting the alarm time, while the bottom sub-dial houses the running seconds hand.
The face is clearly stamped with 'COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA' across the upper half and the word 'GERMANY' in very small letters at the bottom.
The reverse has two large, flat metal keys to manually wind the clock movement and the alarm spring and two smaller ridged knobs used to change the time and the alarm setting. At the bottom, there is a small horizontal slot marked with 'F' (Fast) and 'S' (Slow) to adjust the mechanical balance wheel speed. There is no maker's mark.

Historical information

During the mid-20th century, the Australian government frequently imported high-quality, durable mechanical timepieces from Germany to supply public offices, railways, and military barracks. They typically featured standard mechanical movements housed in robust metal or bakelite casings, but were distinguished by custom dial markings such as 'Commonwealth of Australia', 'C.O.A.', or the Australian broad arrow military property mark.

It is not known where this particular alarm clock was used.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW00993
Item type
Clocks
Collectibles
Domestic Objects
Personal Effects
Material
Ink
Metal
Paper
Width
110 mm
Height or length
145 mm
Depth
65 mm
Inscriptions and markings

On clock face:

"COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA"

"GERMANY"

Place made
Germany
Primary significance criteria
Historic significance
Scientific or research significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Last modified
Tuesday, 4 August, 2026
Completeness
100
Recollections of War

Recollections of War

Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock - front and back from above
Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock - front and back from above
Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock - front and back from side
Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock - front and back from side
Close up of upper section of face of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Close up of upper section of face of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Close up of lower section of face of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Close up of lower section of face of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Angled view of front of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Angled view of front of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Angled view of back of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock
Angled view of back of Commonwealth of Australia alarm clock

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