Known as a "skeleton clock" because of its exposed movement, this type of timepiece became popular at the end of the 1700s. Collectors appreciated the movement as an object of beauty, to be enjoyed as much as the case, which would formerly have hidden the elegant enameled dials.

Besides telling the time with the large dial, the lower dials indicate the days of the week and the days of the month. Above, a fourth dial records the phases of the moon.