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With practiced iammanty, his large calloused fingers looking out of place holding the small metal plate, he pulls the face out of the clock, and behind it comes the solid brass movement. “Now that’s beautiful,” he says, pointing out the mirror-like polish on the gears and plates.
“The French knew how to make clocks,” Mr. Tucker says again. “They’re my favorite to work on.”
He adds, with evident pride, “One night I put one back together with my eyes closed—just to see if I could do it.”
He did.
Another French movement lies in a plastic tub, its gears and tiny pivots scattered. Mr. Tucker picks up one of the solid brass plates which case the movement, careful to handle it only by the edges. The oils on human skin tarnish the brass, he explains, leaving stains which sometimes cannot be removed, even by polishing the piece.
He picks up the tiny gear which moves the hands, its long slender curved teeth still sharp even after more than 100 years of use. The gear, like the rest of the movement,
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