The distinctive quality of Neuchâtel clocks is instantly apparent to a connoisseur, but they display considerable variety in appearance, with styles ranging from Louis XVI to the Regence. The golden flourishes on the clock cabinets, often of an astonishing complexity, are achieved by a technique known as "water-gilding", which was practiced more than 4,000 years ago by the Chinese, Egyptians, and Incas and involves working with sheets of 23-karat gold leaf.

The clocks are built to last. The mechanical 8-day movements and chimes are manufactured entirely in the Eluxa factory and assembled by skilled Swiss watchmakers. Wood for cabinets is aged at least five years and given protective finishes to confer resistance to fluctuations in temperature an humidity.

People love these clocks. But of course, they do not buy them just to tell time, though they do that very well. People can feel that these clocks come from human hands and harken back to an earlier era. These clocks convey charm, and curiously enough, they communicate a sense of greater leisure -- a time when people were not so hurried, when the moment could be savored.

The Eluxa Company, from its own factory, has manufactured Neuchâtel style clocks since 1947. Its Swiss craftsmen create high quality, precious reproductions of Louis XV, Louis XVI and Regence clocks with professional skill and an artistic touch.

Every Eluxa clock features:

• high qualify Swiss movement
• genuine enamel faces
• choices of woods used in construction
• selection of hand painted designs and color combinations on the clock case
• range of sizes from 36 cm. to 76 cm. in height