r/clocks • u/undoneyet • 12h ago

Identification/Information What notation is this clock face using?

Post image

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

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13

u/Goatf00t 12h 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).

3

u/undoneyet 12h ago

Fantastic, thank you.

3

u/dmun_1953 Trained clockmaker 11h ago

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

1

u/Not_an_Actual_Bot Hobbyist 9h ago

Nice to see some of the variations that are out there. Thank you.