BAYARD Carriage clocks

When Albert Villon established his clock making shop in 1867 in St Nicholas D'Aliermont in northern France, he specialized in marine clocks and travel/carriage clocks.

During the next decades, the company changed names - from Duverdrey & Bloquel to Bayard and made many models of clocks -including traditional carriage clocks with solid brass cases and bevelled glass fronts, sides and backs and several models also had visible escapements.

In 1978 Bayard was taken over by Jaeger-Levallois from Switzerland.
In the 1980's (1982-83) they began reproducing some of the clocks that had originally been manufactured by the first Bayard company, including a line of 'mignonettes' - carriage clocks.

Bayard Migonette

Mignonettes (meaning small, sweet  i.e. mignon) are excellent, high-class reproductions of some of the carriage clocks made by Duverdrey & Bloquel at the beginning of the XIXth Century. They are still mechanical clocks (not quartz) and should not be confused with Bayard carriage clocks made in the XIXth or early XXth centuries.


A total of four different mignonette models were produced, some with Arabic numbers, other with Roman numerals. All have solid brass cases, bevelled  glass fronts, backs and sides  and an 8-day movement with an enamel dial.

They measure 82 x 147 mm and weigh about 630 grams.

They are easily recognizable by the name 'Bayard' stamped on the dial below the 12 along with 8 day and Made in France.

Most of them were made and sold for export to the UK and the US.


Another indication that it is a 'mignonette' is that the back plate of the clock has "7 seven (or 9 nine) jewels/unadjusted/Duverdrey & Bloquel/France/ and a series number engraved on it.

They are becoming more and more collectable since their production ceased thirty years ago and their mechanical movement is of the same high quality as the original Bayard carriage clocks. The 'mignonette' model with Arabic numbers is the rarest of the four models.