FRENCH CLOCK WITH MERCURY GILDING

FRENCH CLOCK with mercury gilding
 

French clock in bronze with mercury gilding 

Enamel ring dial with roman numerals

Wonderful original mercury gilding.

Breguet hands

Mechanical with ring the hours and half.

Dimensions : cm. 20,5 height - cm. 45 width - cm. 12,5 depth

Mercury gilding 

Ormolu (from French or moulu, signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze.

The mercury is driven off in a kiln leaving behind a gold-colored veneer. The French refer to this technique as bronze doré; in English, it is known as "gilt bronze".

The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgamof gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object.

Due to exposure to the harmful mercury fumes, most gilders did not survive beyond 40 years of age. No true ormolu was produced in France after around 1830 because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury.