A rare Tompion table clock that had been owned by the same Dutch family since the late 19th century sold for £262,750 at Bonhams' Fine Clocks sale in London on Wednesday 16 December. It had been estimated at £120,000-180,000. The sale made a total of £686,226 with 83% sold by lot and 91% sold by value.

Bonhams Director of Fine Clocks, James Stratton, said: "This clock was one of a rare group of mid-size Phase Two table clocks that Tompion produced between 1691 - 1711. It was in beautiful condition, had wonderful provenance and I'm not at all surprised that it attracted so much interest and sold for such an impressive sum."

In June 2019, Bonhams sold Tompion's Q clock made for King William and Queen Mary, for £1,935,063. Part of the Clive Collection of Exceptional Clocks, the Q clock is the most valuable Tompion timepiece ever sold at auction.

Other highlights included:

• A unique and important, dated 17th century lantern clock of large size, engraved with the arms of the Brewers Company. By William Bowyer, London, dated 1632. Sold for £56,500 (estimate: £10,000-15,000).

• A fine and rare late 17th century ebony quarter repeating table clock with alarm by Joseph Knibb, London. Sold for £50,250 (estimate: £30,000-50,000).

• A rare late 19th century English giant carriage clock with duplex escapement, original case and original numbered key by Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd, 84 Strand. Sold for £35,250 (estimate: £8,000-12,000).

Thomas Tompion was born in 1639, the son of a blacksmith. During his lifetime, he enjoyed the patronage of four successive English sovereigns: Charles II, James II, William III & Mary II, and Queen Anne. He also created clocks for Kings Charles III and Philip V of Spain, Leopold I, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Cosimo III de Medici – becoming the most celebrated clock and watch maker in the known world. His clocks are famous for the ingenuity of their design, and their mechanical complexity and sophistication. He died in 1713 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His legacy as the Father of English Clock Making endures to this day.