One of the big clocks we have fell from its nail on the wall. The frame broke, and was pretty useless as a decoration piece. My parents were going to throw it away, so I asked if they would let me take it apart, just to see how it works. The frame and the actual clock mechanism are two separate pieces (pictures below). I opened up the mechanism to find a electromagnet that pulsed a magnetic gear around an axis. After later research, I learned that this was timed by the vibration of a quarts crystal, which was located in the micro circuit board. This pulse turned a gear a quarter of a rotation every second. The gear ratio was reduced down to 1/360th of a rotation for the minute hand. This turn the center axle that spins the minute hand. The rotation is then further geared down to 1/43200 of a rotation for the hour hand, which turns the outer axle (again, pictures attached below).
