‘Tique of the Week is an Austin-wide search for unique and interesting antiques. With dozens of antique shops around Austin, one-of-a-kind items from the past are not in short supply. Each week we’ll find a new favorite item and feature it as our “‘Tique of the Week.”

This week’s search for Austin antiques took us to Dreyfus Antiques on Lamar Boulevard. The store specializes in French antiques, including clocks, furniture and art dating back to the 19th century.

Inside the store, beneath a ceiling covered wall-to-wall in chandeliers and light fixtures, there was a wide array of marble candlestick holders, decorative plates with scenes from the French Countryside, and a collection of grandfather clocks larger than we’d ever seen.

The clock we chose to feature this week was a grandfather clock designed and built by Denis Blachin. The clock is hand-carved from pine wood and is estimated to have been built in the 1860s in Bordeaux, France.

The origin of the grandfather clock dates back to 1670 after the invention of a specialized pendulum that needed less room to swing back and forth and power the clock mechanism. Grandfather clocks were also originally called long-case clocks, since the pendulum was typically enclosed in a case beneath the face of the clock.

The term grandfather clock comes from a popular song written in 1876 by Henry Work that was written about a clock that once stood in the George Hotel in North Yorkshire, England.

According to the story, two brothers ran the hotel and there was a grandfather clock — or a floor clock as it was known back then — in the lobby. Both men grew old, and after one died, the clock began to slow and lost time everyday. Repairs were attempted, but nothing helped. After the second brother died, the clock stopped working completely.

This 19th century grandfather clock, along with the history of the grandfather clock, make for a timeless ‘Tique of the Week.