In my opinion, one of the best replicas I did was the Webley clock, and as far as I know there is only one known original example, so I had no hesitation in making a replica as near to the original as possible using modern materials.
The original had an etched glass facia and a mains operated mechanism, but my replica was made using a reproduction printed clock facia sandwiched between two layers of Perspex, with a battery operated mechanism mounted through the Perspex, with two versions that could either be wall or table mounted, and could either have sweep or incremental second hand.
I did initially sell a few but the demand was not as high as I had expected, so I still have the materials to make a few more.