Mechanical clocks

[cisamcgu]

My quartz mantelpiece clock has died and I fancy a mechanical clock that needs to be wound every week or so, and maybe strikes the hours.

Does anyone have any knowledge of such things in CC-land ?

 

[accountantpete]

I have a Carriage Clock - they need winding up every week and can be a bit temperamental as regards keeping time given the changing temperatures.

A repeating carriage clock (with chimes) is a bit more intricate and costly.

I also have an Anniversary clock which only needs winding once a year but again is a bit temperamental re keeping time.

Hence I have a third digital clock to tell the right time

 

[Mark Grant]

I have this, it's about 15" across.
It hung in the dining room of the family home throughout my childhood.
When I inherited it it was not working so I paid for it to be rebuilt, even though the cost was all the clock was worth.
It keeps good time, when it starts to lose a few minutes I know it's time to wind it.
My kids aren't keen on the loud tick but it is one of the sounds of my childhood!

 

[midlife]

We had one of these on the mantle above the fire at home........ I remember it well cos I broke it....

 

[tyred]

You can often buy old mantlepiece clocks at car boots and the like. I am far from an expert, especially in regards to value, etc but my Grandfather repaired both watches and clocks, my uncle served an apprenticeship in watchmaking, I grew up with clocks everywhere and have serviced quite a few myself.

Generally English or American movements tend to be quite simple and easy to strip down and clean and set up, though not as accurate as more sophisticated Continental clocks.

I have a love of the polished slate clocks with French movements though they have a fragile suspension spring and don't like rough treatment. With a solid slate case they weigh about 2 - 3 stone!

You will find Chinese-made movements too, a lot of the experts view them as cheap rubbish though they work fine in my experience, often come in nice cases and can be picked up for peanuts. They often seem to have wear in the bushes that better quality movements won't have but they will still work and buying one could be fun to play around with as it's no biggie if you break it. If I bought one, I'd take the movement out of it and do a lazy service - wash it in petrol or paint thinners to remove the gunged up oil and dirt and re-oil it. You just need a drop on each bushing and use proper clock oil as other things like 3-in-1 will dry up or harden very quickly. An interesting thing with Chinese wall clocks I've seen is they have two chimes and two hammers to strike it, bend one of the hammers so it doesn't make contact and only one chime is in use and it will sound much nicer.

 

[Bazzer]

I seem to recall wind up clocks are more expensive than quartz ones from when I have previously looked.
We have four mechanical clocks; a fist size but very heavy solid brass carriage clock I bought Mrs B almost 40 years ago; a wooden Napoleon from the late 60's/early 70s owned by my grand parents; a German made wooden wall clock from the early 80s and a German made long case clock from the late 70s. All keep time very well, but the long case clock is the one always running because we miss its chimes if it stops. That keeps time as well as my quartz wrist watch.
IME the key (sic) seems to be to wind them up at regular intervals and not allow them to run down completely. Ours don't seem to be affected by temperature despite the different materials used in the case construction and they are in two different rooms, one North facing, the other South facing.
Personally I would check where the clock, or at least its mechanism was made and based upon personal experience, make sure it was British, German or Swiss. And once you have a clock, if it doesn't keep time accurately, make small adjustments and allow the mechanism a few days to settle before making any further adjustment..

 

[cisamcgu]

Something like this, I was thinking of :

https://amsclocks.co.uk/product/ams-2193-8-mantel-clock/

or

https://www.classic-clocks.co.uk/hermle_details.asp?clockID=21092-030340&Requestor=hermle_gallery

 

[Mr Celine]

I have a grandmother clock which used to belong to my grandmother.
I don't remember ever seeing it going or chiming when it was in her house. I inherited it and stripped it down, lubed and rebuilt the movement. Now it goes when I can be bothered winding it up. It has a nice chime. The face, case etc look very 1930s. It doesn't keep good time because the pendulum isn't temperature compensated and the movement is a really cheap unbranded german one.

 

[slowmotion]

We've got a German one which we inherited from a great aunt. I think it's about 130 years old and might be worth about £400, according to the clock repairer that we took it to twenty years ago. It sits on a wall-mounted bracket. The case itself is about 17 inches tall, there are windows on each side and a door in the back. It ticks quite quickly, but not obtrusively, and bongs each 15 minutes. The bongs are pleasantly deep in tone. It doesn't keep particularly good time but it's fun to have around, rather like an old family friend really.

 

[gbb]

View attachment 400681
I have this, it's about 15" across.
It hung in the dining room of the family home throughout my childhood.
When I inherited it it was not working so I paid for it to be rebuilt, even though the cost was all the clock was worth.
It keeps good time, when it starts to lose a few minutes I know it's time to wind it.
My kids aren't keen on the loud tick but it is one of the sounds of my childhood!

I find it very relaxing to listen to the thunk thunk of a good clock and like you (I presume), distintly remember that sound in the night of my grandads grandfather clock.

 

[ADarkDraconis]

We had an old Howard Miller clock growing up that was lovely, kept time well and the sound was beautiful. You can still find those around with some searching, and fairly reasonable compared with Swiss manufacturers, although probably not as inexpensive as a China make. I remember when my grandfather lost the key and we then had to wind it with needle nosed pliers until another key was ordered

 

[Bazzer]

Something like this, I was thinking of :

https://amsclocks.co.uk/product/ams-2193-8-mantel-clock/

or

https://www.classic-clocks.co.uk/hermle_details.asp?clockID=21092-030340&Requestor=hermle_gallery

Don't take this the wrong way, but I suppose it depends upon your taste and house decor. There seem to be a lot of Napoleon's of different styles around and to my eyes, some could look out of place depending upon the surroundings.

We would like an antique long case clock to go with George our existing long case clock, but cannot find one which looks right.

But a clock isn't necessarily just visual. As has been referenced a couple of times in this thread, their sound, whether tick tock, thunk or chimes, can be part of their character. My grandparents had two Napoleons, mine and older one. I much preferred the pitch of the older one, but an Aunt nabbed that one! So I'd suggest if you can, listen to some before you buy. The ticking mechanism might be too loud or busy, or the pitch of the chimes may not suit you.

This company made one of ours http://www.kieninger.com/english_lang

 

[mybike]

I've got a wall clock my grandfather gave to his wife on their wedding. Simple German mechanism which just keeps going. Not a bad timekeeper despite spending years behind my parents' sofa! You can get a similar mechanism in mantle clocks, I've one that needs a new pawl for the main spring. Made by Badische Uhrenfabrik A G around 1920 probably worth £150 on a good day.

 

[Pale Rider]

Something like this, I was thinking of :

https://amsclocks.co.uk/product/ams-2193-8-mantel-clock/

or

https://www.classic-clocks.co.uk/hermle_details.asp?clockID=21092-030340&Requestor=hermle_gallery

I reckon you could get something similar from an auction for not much money.

Clocks, historically, don't do well in auctions which you can use to your advantage.

Bigger clocks can be cheaper still because, I suspect, few people want one in a modern home.

 

[cisamcgu]

I have put in a small bid on ebay for a tatty looking, but supposedly working, mantle clock - I'll let you know how I get on