A clock made between c. 1680 and 1730 in the area around the town of Zaandam in north Holland. The case of the Zaandam clock has an oak back panel, which is almost always outlined in multiple curves, though it may occasionally be rectangular. This panel is usually veneered in rosewood, or in less elaborate models painted. At the rear is an opening to accommodate the pendulum; at the front, on either side of the pendulum aperture, are brackets that carry the wooden case containing the movement. The case has four twisted or plain pillars and is usually surmounted by moulded frets with tiny glass doors at the sides. The dial is either of painted wood or of velvet-covered brass on which the chapter ring is mounted. In exceptional examples, the case of the clock is made of brass or gilded iron rather than wood. The striking train in the Zaandam clock is placed behind the motion train. The vertical strip pillars carrying the trains are not, however, connected by a top and bottom plate but by a horizontal bottom and top strip, thus forming a simple frame. The rigidity is obviously inferior to that of the Friesland clock. Nevertheless, the oldest Zaandam clocks take their cage construction from bracketed and Friesland clocks, although in most cases the pillars and the top and bottom plates are of wood. Old Zaandam clocks often have a quarter-hour hand beneath the hour hand. The alarm system, when fitted, is usually mounted behind the dial as in the ordinary stoelklok. The crossings of the wheels are often forked to form heart-shaped apertures. As a rule the pear-shaped weights are suspended on cords rather than chains, and the pulleys are made of wood. These stylish clocks are early and were produced for only about one-third the time the conventional Dutch bracket clock was made; they are therefore much rarer.