Robert B. Materne

specializes in making reproduction New England grandfather clocks, mantle clocks, and furniture, sometimes known as “reproduction antiques”. Focusing in the time period from the mid 1700’s to the mid 1800’s.

This was a fascinating period of American history; the beginning of the China trade, the war for independence, the period of exploration in our own country to the beginning of the industrial age. Craftsmen were beginning to come up with their own designs instead of echoing the styles of England. We also had the war of 1812, which made it difficult to import materials from Europe. All this had a huge influence on the designs, manufacturing and marketing of grandfather clocks and furniture of those times.

I use traditional joinery techniques, often using tools similar to those found in woodshops two hundred years ago. Many of my tools are antiques. For my finishes I use shellac, buying the flakes and mixing them myself. I even use the same glues whenever possible.

Production of Accurate Replicas
The history, the techniques, the different woods and the challenge of making each piece as accurate as possible is my goal in producing these clocks and furniture.
I am not in the business of producing “fakes”. My goal is to produce “replicas”, as if you were picking up your new grandfather clock in the 1700’s.The photo to the left (below) is an actual Simon Willard Tall Clock  compared to a Simon Willard replica crafted by Robert Materne.

SimonWillardOriginal-165SimonWillard-replica