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Normandie ATO Loose-Copy Clock information and photos at RLalique.com are tied together on this main Normandie ATO Loose-Copy Clocks page. Past and future auctions, historical details, sales, copies, reproductions, articles and more are all accessible from here. This page grows as more info is added to the website.

Note: There are 2 similar ATO clocks that in the modern era are referred to by auction houses as "Normandie" clocks. One of the clocks has the name NORMANDIE spelled out on the face in lieu of 9 of the expected numbers, and has the molded full name of the Normandie owner in the glass on the reverse. That clock is the ATO clock that was commissioned for the maiden voyage of the Normandie. The clock you see on this page is a later loose-copy by ATO of the commissioned clock, that in addition to other changes, has had the Normandie name removed from the front and the boat owner's name removed from the reverse. Based on appearances in the modern era there are by far a lot more of these later loose-copy clocks than there are of the actual commissioned original ATO Normandie clocks.

Also Note: To the extent we say we have seen no evidence to document a Lalique connection it applies equally to both clocks discussed above. With that in mind, there is zero documentary evidence that we are aware of that René Lalique had anything to do with either clock. We cannot find even one instance where a seller making the claim of some kind of Lalique attachment to the clock, including claims that documentation exists to prove it, has ever provided any documentation to prove it. The clock is obviously not in the Catalogue Raisonne and is only in our catalogue so that potential buyers can see this statement. We repeatedly urge typical R. Lalique collectors not to buy items that are undocumented and/or unsigned. Here you have a trifecta of red alerts: NO DOCUMENTATION, NO R. LALIQUE SIGNATURE, NOT IN THE CATALOGUE RAISONNE. The clock itself bears the correct attribution, having the expected molded marks in the glass: "ATO" and "MADE IN FRANCE" with no further markings.

Also Note: The fact that we are calling this later loose-copy clock a "Normandie Clock" is only that we are repeating what the modern day sellers have called the clock. We're using the sellers' name for it so that interested collectors looking for information about a supposed "Normandie Clock" can find it here. We are not Normandie experts, but from what we know we would never say that this particular later loose-copy clock was a commission from the owner of the Normandie (Compagnie Générale Transatlantique aka CGT). See the loose-copy box below that explains how ATO purposefully dissociated this later loose-copy clock from the Normandie and CGT. Basically, modern day sellers are calling this clock something that ATO itself did not call it, using a name ATO purposefully removed when creating this later loose-copy.

Also Note: Of course, even if this clock had been a CGT commission for the Normandie, that would be completely irrelevant to the document-free vague claim by sellers of the clock that René Lalique had something (always it's a general undocumented and unspecified something) to do with the clock. We've seen auction house sellers claim that Lalique's involvement with the clock is documented in the ATO archives! We cannot find even one example where any auction house seller of this clock making that representation has ever produced the supposed documentation. Here we are in 2023, nearly 90 years since the clock was made by ATO, and no document showing any involvement by René Lalique with the clock has been produced by any seller or anyone else that we can find! Those anyone elses (none of whom to our knowledge has ever claimed a Lalique involvement) include the Lalique company, the Lalique family, the Haviland family, the Musée Lalique, CGT, CGT's successor CGM (Compagnie Générale Maritime), Felix Marcilhac/Catalogue Raisonne, and as you will read below, ATO!

About That Often Repeated Claim Of ATO Documentation: In 2014 the French auction house Aguttes contacted the "ATO Group historian" seeking to confirm the claimed "collaboration" of René Lalique on the Normandie clock because they had one of these later loose-copy clocks coming up for auction. Good for them. Instead of just copying and pasting ridiculous claims from other auction houses and acting like that is "research", they made the call! The following quote of their report is the Google translator version of the original French text of what they said they got from the historian: "The ATO group historian confirmed that René Lalique was the only master glassmaker to have collaborated with ATO." You might notice that words like clock and Normandie are not part of the sweeping generalization given by the historian and no documentation indicating Lalique involvement with the Normandie clock is even mentioned. Of course we know that Lalique collaborated with ATO. He was a big customer of clock mechanisms and he sold ATO 4 documented clock cases he designed and made exclusively for ATO that they used in their own distribution channels. Those clock cases are all signed for Lalique and not for ATO. Both ATO clock cases discussed here are signed only for ATO and not for Lalique! Having gotten just a sweeping generalization that does not connect Lalique to the clock, Aguttes, apparently still on the search for some evidence of Lalique involvement with the clock, went to a grandson of ATO's founder Léon Hatot to see if he had information connecting Lalique to the clock. Obviously if Aguttes had gotten period documentation or anything connecting Lalique to the clock from the ATO historian, not only would they have said so in both plain English and plain French, but there would have been no reason to chase down a relative. According to Aguttes again via Google Translator of the original French: "Moreover, the grandson of Léon Hatot also certifies that Lalique was the master glassmaker of this clock model." Apparently, the grandson went all-in and claimed Lalique made the clock! Even the recent (2022/2023) auction house sellers and their various experts and specialists don't claim Lalique made the clock. That would be way too specific a claim that could easily be de-bunked. Again, we're not criticizing Aguttes, we are applauding them for making an effort to do actual research as opposed to just copy/pasting cherry-picked favorable claims of unknown reliability (or as is the case here known unreliability) put forth by other auction houses. Even the talk with the relative was worth the effort; you never know what dusty paperwork from the past a family member might pull out of a drawer. Of course our applause was muted by the fact that notwithstanding by their own report they didn't get anything from ATO tying Lalique to the clock, apparently based on the statement of the grandson, they made a failed attempt to sell the clock with the bold faced lot heading: RENE LALIQUE (1860-1945).

Aguttes Original French Text: L'historienne du groupe ATO a confirmé que René Lalique fut le seul maître-verrier à avoir collaboré avec ATO. Par ailleurs, le petit-fils de Léon Hatot certifie également que Lalique fut le maître verrier de ce modèle de pendulette. You can see the 2014 Aguttes lot listing containing one of these later loose-copy clocks (that did not sell) and showing that French text HERE! And if anyone reading this page has any comments or additional relevant information, please let us know via info@rlalique.com with the subject line "Normandie Clock".

See The Entire Catalogue Of: Rene Lalique Clocks

All Normandie ATO Loose-Copy Clocks 2022-12-08  Not R. Lalique Sales Results 2022-10-20  Not R. Lalique Sales Results

For Sale By Us: Normandie ATO Loose-Copy Clocks None For Sale   Loose-Copies: Normandie ATO Loose-Copy Clocks This clock is a later loose-copy by ATO of their known commissioned Normandie Clock. In addition to other distinguishable differences, it appears that starting with that known clock, ATO removed the name Normandie from the front of the clock and then removed the prominently molded full name of the owner of the Normandie from the back of the clock, thereby creating this purposefully NOT NORMANDIE CLOCK!   Post War Lalique Crystal Reproductions We Are Not Aware Of Any Modern Crystal Reproductions   Blog Articles That Mention Both Normandie ATO Loose-Copy and Clock Check For Articles

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