Gent of Leicester Slave Clock | Satin Black, Original 30-Second Movement, 24-Hour Dial Face
Gent of Leicester Slave Clock | Satin Black, Original 30-Second Movement, 24-Hour Dial Face
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An original 1960s wall clock marked "Gent of Leicester" on the dial, finished in satin black and left with its original Gents 30-second pulse movement still fitted. What sets this one apart is the dial itself: a distinctive design with red 24-hour markings alongside the standard hours, and hands to match.
At a glance
| Manufacturer | Gent of Leicester |
| Produced | Circa 1960s |
| Function | Slave clock, original movement still fitted |
| Finish | Satin black, sprayed |
| Dial | Distinctive design with red 24-hour markings alongside standard hour markings |
| Hands | Original-style pointers, matched to the 24-hour dial |
| Movement | Original Gents 30-second pulse movement, still built in |
| Power requirement | Requires a pulse generator or master clock, not included, will not run straight out of the box |
| Conversion option | Quartz conversion possible on request, email us before ordering if you'd like this |
| Diameter | 24.5 cm (9.6") |
| Height / depth | 6.5 cm (2.6") |
| Availability | One of one, once sold this exact piece will not return |
| Import duty | Payable by the buyer in their own country |
A note on the "Gent" marking
This dial reads "Gent of Leicester" rather than "Gents of Leicester," a variation also found on some of our other clocks from the same maker. It's not a different company, genuine vintage examples exist with both markings, and even specialist clock collectors haven't landed on a firm explanation for it. A documented, authentic detail, not a cause for concern.
The story
This clock still does exactly what it was built to do, mechanically speaking, it just needs the right partner to do it. As a slave clock, it never had its own timekeeping mechanism, instead it relied on a wired connection to a central master clock, which sent out a pulse every 30 seconds to move the hands forward one step at a time. Wire up enough of these across a building and every one of them agreed on the time down to the minute, a system that let British factories, offices, and stations run large-scale synchronised clocks decades before wireless made that simple. Gents of Leicester, founded in 1872 by John Thomas Gent, was behind much of that technology, and clocks like this one are still being recovered from old industrial sites across Britain today.
What makes this particular example stand out is its dial. Rather than the plain hour markings you'll see on most of our Gent of Leicester clocks, this one carries a genuinely distinctive design, with red 24-hour numerals set alongside the standard 12-hour markings, and hands shaped to match. It's the kind of dual-scale dial that would have suited a workplace running around the clock, somewhere a 24-hour reading mattered as much as a standard one.
The original Gents 30-second pulse movement is still built into the case, unconverted and untouched, which means this clock needs an external pulse generator or a connection to a master clock to actually run, it will not work straight out of the box. If you'd prefer it to run independently, we can convert it to a modern quartz movement on request, just send us an email before you order and we'll arrange it.
Suited to collectors who want both the original mechanism and a genuinely unusual dial, workplaces or home offices that could put a 24-hour readout to real use, and anyone happy to source or build a simple pulse generator setup in exchange for owning the clock in its truest original state.