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Detouche
Multi-Dial Skeleton Regulator
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Constantin-Louis Detouche (1810-1889)
Multi-Dial Skeleton Regulator
Paris, circa 1850
Height 50 cm, width 37 cm, depth 15 cm
A gilt bronze and brass multi-dial skeleton precision regulator of seventeen days duration by Detouche, the main
dial signed C. Detouche à Paris the movement backplate stamped: C. Detouche / 158 R ST. MARTIN 160 / 9733
and Med. D’Argent. The central white enamel main dial features Roman numerals and blued steel Breguet hands
for the hours and minutes; above it, a white enamel ring dial for the seconds, with Arabic numerals and a blued steel
pointer; beneath the main dial another white enamel ring dial bearing the days of the week, indicated by a blued
steel index, the clock surmounted by an armillary sphere with central white enamel band bearing the date. The
skeletonised movement with Graham anchor escapement strikes the quarters on a bell, with an Ellicott type gridiron
compensation pendulum and a large and heavy brass bob with beat regulation guide. A horizontal frame mounted
with six turned finials bears the movement; it stands on two pairs of finely chased gilt bronze foliate volutes, which in
turn rest on a gilt base. With glass dome.
Our opinion:
Rive Gauche
Artist Biography :
Constantin-Louis Detouche (1810-1889) born in Paris on 10th October 1810, he was the son of clockmaker
Georges Detouche. He ran his father’s business until 1830 when he moved to 158-160 rue St. Martin, where he
sold precision clocks, scientific instruments and jewellery.
The Maison Detouche was perhaps the most important French horological firm of its day, and won many
distinctions and awards. At the 1862 Exposition de Nîmes, where Detouche received a gold medal, his firm was
described as follows: “Horology was represented with dignity at the Nîmes exhibition. Above all, we shall cite the
House of Detouche de Paris, founded in 1803; its business has increased annually and now retails in France and
abroad more than 3 million francs worth of goods. In this figure horology, from precision items to those for domestic
use represent more than 1,200,000 francs. M. Detouche has already received the most prestigious awards; I will
just mention: the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle d’Horlogerie at Besançon in 1860, and the gold medal in
London in 1862. He was awarded La Croix de la Légion d’Honneur for his contribution toward the progress in
horology…, the Croix de Dannebrog was awarded to him by the King of Denmark for his electric clock. … The jury
noted secondly a rocaille style regulator in gilt bronze of a remarkable taste, measuring 1m, 90;…The turnstiles
placed at the exhibition and considered indispensable in France and abroad are also the invention of M. Detouche.
All of the items shown by this company are to be noted for their modest prices, their elegance, their rich
ornamentation and precision, and their skilled workmanship. The jury awards to M. Detouche a diplôme
d’honneur.” (“Revue Chronométrique, 8th year, vol. IV, June 1862 – June 1863, “Exposition de Nîmes”, Paris, 1862,
pp. 605-609). Detouche was appointed official clockmaker to Emperor Napoleon III.
As an ingenious mechanic and creative inventor, Detouche registered many patents. One, dated 30th December
1844, was for a new type of alarm clock with mobile keys. From 1845 to 1859 Detouche’s foreman was JacquesFrançois Houdin (1783-1860). The father-in-law of the inventor, horologist and magician Jean-Eugène Robert-
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Houdin (1805-71) Houdin came from Blois but moved to Paris at the request of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Houdin’s
work was remarkable, and he contributed to the reputation of the Detouche firm. Houdin created and perfected
special escapements and compensating pendulums for regulators and astronomical clocks, while also improving
machinery used for making wheels and pinions.
The Maison Detouche took part in the London Exhibition of 1851, displaying a several precision pieces, including
regulators and chronometers; they were awarded a Prize Medal. Among their exhibits was an exceptional
astronomical gilt brass wall regulator. The following year Detouche patented a pendulum suspension system, an
electro-magnetic clock (along with F. Brisbard-Gobert), and a new striking mechanism (with Houdin). In 1855
Detouche took part in the Paris Universal Exhibition, where he received a gold medal. That same year he donated
a master clock with electro-mechanical escapement and a receiver clock (shown at the 1855 Paris Universal
Exhibition) as well as a collection of six complex demonstration escapements to the Paris Conservatoire Impérial
des Arts et Métiers.
In May 1856 he and Houdin took out a patent for an electric dial for use on gas lanterns. Very popular, his electrical
clocks were owned by such illustrious figures as Paul Casimir Garnier and Napoleon III. Detouche took part in the
Exhibition of Besançon in 1860, where he obtained a gold medal. That success was followed by gold medals
obtained at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London and the 1863 Exposition générale of Nîmes, where he also
won gold medals. In April 1864 Detouche registered a patent (with Chéradame) for the nocturnal lighting of clock
dials. In 1866 he patented an alarm clock with a spherical case and a mechanism for use in so-called mystery
clocks.
Among Detouche’s other creations, one notes two large astronomical regulators bearing indications of the days,
months and dates, sunrise and sunset time, the equation of time, moonrise and moonset, lunar phases and age,
barometer and thermometer, and the time in several cities, displayed on fourteen subsidiary dials. One of these
regulators long stood at the corner of the rue Saint-Martin and the rue de Rivoli; it is now housed in the FrançoisPaul Journe SA Manufacture in Geneva. Other important pieces include an “Ephéméridal” regulator, which at
midnight shows the planets’ daily positions, and an 1851 astronomic clock indicating the date, day, month of the
year, equation of time and the times of sunset and sunrise.
Detouche’s success allowed him to buy land and build a house in Villemomble (east of Paris) in 1850. He became
mayor of Villemomble, modernising the town, improving its water supply, and purchasing a small château that he
made into the town hall and school. In recognition of Detouche’s services the French government made him a
Knight of the Legion of Honour. Villemomble honoured their clockmaker-mayor with an imposing mausoleum in the
town cemetery, and a street named after him.
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