A striking clock is a clock that announces the time audibly by sounding a bell, gong or set of rods, most commonly by striking the number of the hour. This distinguishes it from a timepiece, which shows the time without sounding it, and from a chiming clock, which plays a tune or sequence of notes on several bells, often at each quarter.
Striking clocks were among the earliest mechanical clocks, with medieval turret clocks sounding the hours on a great bell long before dials were common. Most English longcase and bracket clocks of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries strike the hours on a single bell, and many also have a separate train for striking the quarters. French mantel clocks often strike the half hour as well as the hour, and Victorian and later clocks frequently strike on a coiled wire gong for a deeper tone. Some clocks offer a repeat facility, sounding the last hour again on demand, which was useful at night. Collectors check that the strike is correctly synchronised with the hands, that the original bell or gong survives, and that the mechanism has not been converted or simplified during earlier repairs.
