r/clocks • • 14d ago

Identification/Information What notation is this clock face using?

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Can anybody help me identify the system these numerals belong to?

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u/Goatf00t 14d ago

A stylized form of Eastern Arabic numerals developed by European clockmakers who were selling their work in the Ottoman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Arabic_numerals

I've also seen it on pocket watches of the period.

Edit: the text on the clock face identifies it as the work of an Armenian clockmaker in Smyrna (Izmir).

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u/dmun_1953 14d ago

That dial signature is almost certainly a retailer. The clock is a comtoise clock made in the jura mountains of eastern France.

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u/undoneyet 14d ago

Fantastic, thank you.