Well, we had thought we had heard just about everything!  But just when we think it’s safe to say we have heard everything, well, you know how it goes.  Kind of like just when you think it’s safe to go back in the water.  We never learn.  Or at least the entertainment industry has a vested interest in wanting us to believe that.

This one you have to hear.  A man called from a small town in one of the more populated States in the USA.  This man was not only the Mayor of his town, but he is also the Undertaker, and apparently the only one in town (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Well, he informed us that he needed to order a new clock because a goat had eaten his prized mantel clock.  At first I thought he was joking.   Seriously!  He was not joking.  Apparently, neither the case nor the movement were in any form where any reasonable part of the clock could be salvaged.  And this was an antique Tiffany & Company mantel clock that was a featured and prized possession at his funeral home.  Somehow the goat, which belonged to him, got in the mortuary after hours.  Fortunately the grandfather clock was spared!

We had several email exchanges after our initial phone calls and before he placed his new order.  I believe him.  I really do this time!  Am I crazy? (based on the facts as presented here – no others need to chime in here).  Have you eever heard of anytghing like this ever happening before?

We get many calls from distraught owners of treasured clocks and pocket watches that have been lost in fires and floods.  After Hurricane Katrina, we must have assisted well over 50 families, at no cost to them, to help them document their losses to their insurance company to maximize the chances of replacement value recovery wherever possible.  They were mostly all grandfather clocks.

OK, fire and floods.

Goats eating your clock?  Reminds me of the old excuse used by many kids that the dog ate their homework, or one of its many variations.

What do you think.  We really would like to know!

Recent years have been accompanied by the incorporation of new features and technologies into mechanical grandfather clocks, mechanical mantle clocks, as well as keywound wall clocks.  Some of these same, and additional features, have also been included in the quartz of battery driven versions of wall clocks, mantel clocks, and grandfather and grandmother clocks.

Not all of these added features are included on all models, and even the same general features can have distinct differences between mechanical chiming clocks and their quartz-driven battery-operated counterparts.

One of the most desired features that has been introduced on many grandfather clocks, and those clocks for the wall or mantle too, is automatic nighttime shutoff. Clocks with this feature almost always will also have a chime on-off switch as well, so one can turn the clock chime of during the day as well if so desired, on a day-to-day basis.  This feature is very convenient for those that want to have the chimes during the day, but not during what would be considered the usual and customary hours for sleeping.  The automatic option typically leaves no choice as to when the clocks stop chiming at night and when they start up again in the morning.  It is preset, period.

It is worth noting that the chime on most all new mechanical grandfather clocks chiming and gongs counting the hours  is generally a much lower volume than those from days gone by.  We believe and understand that the manufacturers have done this to appeal to the largest majority of consumers.  And let’s face it — today people’s attentions can be divided in any given room can be divided between a myriad of electronics including other sound making devices.  People can also see the time in many more places than they used to be able to in past times.  So the combination of the two has meant that the greatest mass market acceptance for chiming grandfather clocks and mechanical and chiming wall clocks and mantel clocks has been to lower the volume significantly.  Still, having said that, the auto-night-shutoff-feature is a popular one, and for good reason.

Another feature on some clocks is one or more of lit dials (even backlit dials, e.g. on the Engels Model of the Howard Miller grandfather clock which in this case features a glass frosted dial).

Howard Miller Engels Grandfather Clock
by Howard Miller

Most of the lit dials are simply those with grandfather clocks with lights shining on the front of the dial, some shining through holes purposefully made in the dial, and also lights in the cabinets to also give the grandfather clocks that illuminated feeling.  It is worth noting that clocks with this feature also need to be near an electrical outlet as this feature of lighting is completely independent of the movements, at least in the clocks that we sell and built to date.

Chimes innovations have also taken place on grandfather clocks, as well as wall clocks and mantle clock, in recent years.  While still a minority, more and more both mechanical and quartz clocks are offering the Schubert Ave Maria and/or Beethoven Ode to Joy Chimes almost always in addition to the Westminster Chime and generally in place of the Whittingon Chime and St. Michaels Chime.  These alternative chimes are highly sought after by many clock buyers.  Very few of the mechanical models offer this as an alternative, but some buyers seek those specific models out for that very reason.  We expect to see more and more mechanical chiming grandfather clocks offering one or more the the Ave Maria or Ode to Joy Chimes in addition to the Westminster Chime in the years to come.

Quartz or battery driven clocks have an added feature on their chiming clocks, which is that the volume is adjustable.  For practical purposes, and despite what many people (including “experts”) will say, the chiming volume of a mechanical grandfather clock is for most all practical purposes NOT adjustable.  Completely separately, the sound quality of a mechanical chime is superior almost always to that of a quartz clock, the reason being one is hearing the actual sound of the hammers striking the chime rods, as opposed to the recording one hears on a quartz chiming clock.  This is true whether the clock in question is a grandfather clock, a grandmother clock, a mantel clock, or a wall clock.

Many times the features enhance the grandfather or wall or mantle clock, but they do not make the clock.  In our view this is true for all of the features that have been added over the last century.

Remember the movies which have an older and eerie painting of a person with eyes that seem to follow you across and around the room?  I remember many such movies and television shows over the years.  Mystery novels too, and even if I recall correctly, in Disneyworld and Disneyland.  Some times there are actual characters watching behind those paintings, and sometimes, well, it simply remains a mystery.

Well, here’s a twist on that old idea.  What if a grandfather clock, say from the 1700s, or even 1980, could talk and/or some how replay some of the more interesting things that it “heard” or “saw” over many generations.  What about one that made the journey to the New World from from Great Britain.  Perhaps it lived through the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World World War I, World World II and on and in between.

Oh the History it could show, and the Stories it could tell or show would be simply spectacular and amazing.  Not long ago, we sold a British Grandfather Clock by a noted maker that had been made circa 1690.  Recognizing that grandfather clocks, or longcase or tallcase clocks as they were known in the Old World and back at that time, were first introduced in around the year 1650.  We figured this grandfather clock, which in some ways showed its age and in other ways defied time, could have been owned by something like 40 generations of individuals.  Talk about heirloom quality grandfather clocks!  It ended up going to a great collector, who took a strong personal interest in that particular grandfather clock.

Would not that make, potentially, a truly remarkable or interesting book?  If you take the idea, please give us a credit or thank you somewhere – maybe even dedicate the book or movie to us!

One chapter could be on a different family.  Or there could be vignettes mixed through the same or several generations.  Content from the world outside brought indoors, which certainly happens in real life, could be an integral part.  Civil War elements, or World War II, could each provide tragically rich and interesting material to work with time in and time out.

I think i need to sign off know and contact my literary agent.  Remember you read it here first.

If one asks the average clock shopper what are the very best brands of clocks out there historically, including grandfather clocks, mantel clocks, and wall clocks, the answers given will be all over the map.  Interestingly, though, one can be sure that much of the time one will here of Tiffany & Company as the best maker of clocks.

Well, Tiffany Clocks are an interesting place to start, especially when looking back over time and also including antique clocks.  Over time, and we honestly are not certain about today’s practices, but historically Tiffany never made there own grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks, carriage clocks, cartel clocks, or even desk clocks.  The Company sourced out its clock making as well as Tiffany pocket watch making to different companies, generally all of whom were considered high-end.  Some early Tiffany Grandfather Clocks were actually made by the Waltham Clock and Watch Company, frequently unsigned by the actual maker.  Others we know of were made by Elliot of London, Herschede, Walter Durfee, and Winterhalder & Hoffmeier, among other.  Many mantel clocks were actually made by Japy Freres or Samuel Marti, among many others.  Pocket watches were made by companies as diverse as Patek Philippe, Longines, and the Concord Watch Company, all of excellent quality, though some would argue quality to varying degrees.  The older clocks were generally made in smaller groups, and to our knowledge Tiffany did not keep records of exactly what made whom when [note to Tiffany & Co. - please feel free to set the record straight by adding a comment or contacting us directly to adderess].  Our understanding is that they were also made in small groups.  And though the Tiffany name was-is proudly displayed on the clock, they were actually “only” the retailer of the clocks.

Not that this is-was a new practice.  In Britian in the 1800s, it was standard practice for many clock retailers, and many pocket watch makers as well, to put their own name of the dial of the clock, with varying practices about hopww much information did or did not go on the movement.  So there was no funny business going on here, simply carrying on a long-held tradition in the retailing industry!

What about other well known names like Cartier Clocks, Seth Thomas, Ingraham Clocks, Simon Willard Clocks and Aaron Willard Clocks, Howard Miller, Ridgeway Clocks, Hermle Clocks, Kieninger Clocks, Gustav Becker clocks, Leinzkirk clocks, Warren Telechron Clocks, General Electric, Self Winding Clock Company Clocks, E Howard and Company Clocks, and so many more.

It is interesting that the value of some antique clocks today may be a casualty opf the succcess and durability of particular manufacturers.  In particular we think of Seth Thomas, which made great clocks, is Amrerica’s oldest Clock Company, and was probably the most prolific.  However, because they made their clocks built to last, we believe their prices as collectibles have been severely tempered simply as a result of supply and demand.  There are still simply so many people out there with working Seth Thomas Clocks.

What about English clockmakers.  The list of great British clockmakers is too long to even begin to enumerate.  So we will take the cowardly way out and simply skip over this vast and rich subject and history.  Among German clocks, some of the clockmakers we like the best are Gustav Becker and Winterhalder & Hoffmeier.  It is important to note that we are glossing over many GREAT master clocksmiths who may have made the most fantastic clocks, but did so in smaller numbers.  The farther back one goes in history, the more true this is.  In England, just as an example of this one point J.W. Benson and Edward Dent (the creator of Big Ben) made clocks in vastly smaller numbers than more contemporary British makers, e.g. Elliot of London.

WHom do you think makes the best clocks?  Today, many would argue that Howard Miller Clocks and Hermle Clocks, along with Ridgeway Clocks and Kieninger, and Bulova Clocks are among the leaders.  And NOT coincidentally, these are among the brands that are featured and sold by 1-800-4CLOCKS.

Howard Miller Grandfather Clcoks have been the high-end market leader in grandfather clocks over the last generation.  The Ridgeway Grandfather Clock collection, Hermle Floor Clocks, Bulova Grandfather Clcoks, and Kieninger Grandfather Clocks, among others, all seem to have gained some traction in recent years. We believe they are all of excellent quality and worksmanship, with mostly all solid wood cases and high-end German 8 Day mechanical clocks movements.

The history of grandfather clocks and clock history in general will continue to evolve in the years and decades to come.

One interesting dunamic is the relatively recent flood of what we view as poorer quality imports from the Far East.  We fully expect to see some better quality and more competition in this area in the years to come.

We welcome your comments as to whom you would add to the best of clocks list.  Think of this as the beginning of time.