Mechanical clocks

[Levo-Lon]

Despite there beauty and wonderful craftsmanship I bloody hate ticking clocks.
I can't sleep if I can even hear one faintly.

They cost a small fortune to get them
repaired..the large grandfather type are silly money to have serviced and repaired.
Other that that I love them ,but mine would not be wound up,just for show I'm affraid.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I bought a clock similar to this on a local market last year,for £40.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqBP89EZvdM

It needs about 3 turns of the wind up key on both the time and chimes mechanisms every day. The constant ticking is quite relaxing,though when you let it run down and it stops,it's nice to leave it quiet for an hour or so to have a break from that constant relaxing" ticking and the hourly chimes. .
Mine's in very good condition. Someone told me that i got a bargain at 40 quid. It has a gold coloured face,whereas the silver ones seem to tarnish and don't look as classy.

 

[Dirk]

I have my maternal grandfather's Smiths mantel clock. It came into my possesion when my grandmother died in 1978 and it's survivd several house moves over the last 40 years.
It dates from around 1950 and still keeps good time. It has a nice mellow chime on the hour and half hour. A bit tatty, but a lot of sentimental value.

 

[Archeress]

It's not a mantlepiece clock but I though I'd share the clock I have on my desk at home. It was bought in Whitby, the main souvenir of a holiday in Yorkshire. It does require daily winding which is a bit of a bind, especially if I don't sit at the desk every day.

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[Accy cyclist]

View attachment 400685

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

Very nice. Art Deco(ish)i'd say.

 

[MarkF]

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 ?

Just like a mechanical wristwatch, a mechanical clock needs periodic servicing to function correctly. I love old stuff that can last forever with maintenance/servicing/repairs so good luck with your search. I'd look for something cheap that you like the look of, then get it serviced, I know it may cost more than the clock but what's the point of a clock that doesn't tell the correct time?

Although I've collected mechanical watches for many years, clocks don't do it for me, I like nixie clocks and 70's flip chart ones.

 

[keithmac]

We used to have a customer, Geoff Newey who with his father and grandfather was responsible for the majority of clocks in York.

He was an expert at repairing them. You can see Newey and Son on quite a few York clock faces if you look hard enough!.

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/118...mous_clockmaker_Geoffrey_Newey_dies__aged_87/

 

[swansonj]

 

[Tim Hall]

Just like a mechanical wristwatch, a mechanical clock needs periodic servicing to function correctly. I love old stuff that can last forever with maintenance/servicing/repairs so good luck with your search. I'd look for something cheap that you like the look of, then get it serviced, I know it may cost more than the clock but what's the point of a clock that doesn't tell the correct time?

Although I've collected mechanical watches for many years, clocks don't do it for me, I like nixie clocks and 70's flip chart ones.

View attachment 400826

View attachment 400827

Paging @User10571, User10571 to the flickering display courtesy phone please.

 

[User10571]

Paging @User10571, User10571 to the flickering display courtesy phone please.

I confess to being a big fan of the flappy information displays we used to have in our railway and airport terminii, prior to the introduction of plasma screens, which more or less force you to stare at them constantly, lest you miss an update of the information.
At least with the flappy displays you'd have an audible alert (by way of a satisfying sound) to let you know that the information was being updated.
It would have been easy to make the plasma screen ding, bong or otherwise alert the traveler of an update.
They missed a trick there.
Hell, they could even make the plasma screen make a tiki-taki sound if they'd wanted to.
They could've also kept the flappy display look, and had it displayed on the plasma screen.
I despair.
Sometimes.
[/productengineer]

ETA - Interestingly enough, as far as I'm aware Vienna airport is one of the last places to have used the Solari (for that is what they are called- named after the Italian company which manufactured them) display boards.
But, in a reassuring twist, Qantas have re-introduced them in their departure lounges.
To paraphrase Qantas 'On the basis that they are art'.
Love it.
https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/...port-design-finds-new-life-in-qantas-lounges/

Apologies for the thread hijack.

 

[MarkF]

I confess to being a big fan of the flappy information displays we used to have in our railway and airport terminii, prior to the introduction of plasma screens, which more or less force you to stare at them constantly, lest you miss an update of the information.
At least with the flappy displays you'd have an audible alert (by way of a satisfying sound) to let you know that the information was being updated.
It would have been easy to make the plasma screen ding, bong or otherwise alert the traveler of an update.
They missed a trick there.
Hell, they could even make the plasma screen make a tiki-taki sound if they'd wanted to.
They could've also kept the flappy display look, and had it displayed on the plasma screen.
I despair.
Sometimes.
[/productengineer]

ETA - Interestingly enough, as far as I'm aware Vienna airport is one of the last places to have used the Solari (for that is what they are called- named after the Italian company which manufactured them) display boards.
But, in a reassuring twist, Quantas have re-introduced them in their departure lounges.
To paraphrase Quantas 'On the basis that they are art'.
Love it.
https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/...port-design-finds-new-life-in-qantas-lounges/

Apologies for the thread hijack.

That display is gorgeous, screens are catmuck. Thought it was just me..........................in the hospital where I work, if somebody is pissing me off, or I am just zoning somebody out, I gaze up at the lovely Karlsson clocks that are throughout the building and wonder at their beauty. There are several designs and they are the only "arty" thing in the entire hospital, often I wonder if anybody else notices them.

 

[User10571]

That display is gorgeous, screens are catmuck. Thought it was just me..........................in the hospital where I work, if somebody is pissing me off, or I am just zoning somebody out, I gaze up at the lovely Karlsson clocks that are throughout the building and wonder at their beauty. There are several designs and they are the only "arty" thing in the entire hospital, often I wonder if anybody else notices them.

View attachment 401121

Not just you.
There is a reason why they are good.....

 

[mybike]

I confess to being a big fan of the flappy information displays we used to have in our railway and airport terminii, prior to the introduction of plasma screens, which more or less force you to stare at them constantly, lest you miss an update of the information.
At least with the flappy displays you'd have an audible alert (by way of a satisfying sound) to let you know that the information was being updated.

However flappy displays are not great as alarm clocks.