Moving pieces including figurines or ships or other parts can make a grandfather clock truly magical. The writer of this blog post is reminded of the amazing lock still in the Central Park Zoo, which every hour plays a wondrous chime and has different bronze animals rotate around the base of the clock. As a child, I found that clock truly amazing, and now, I don’t want to say exactly how many years later, I still find that magical timepiece, perhaps best termed a tower clock with automata, a marvel to behold.
Over the last hundreds of years, makers of some of the finest timepieces have created works of art, with everything from grandfather clocks to wall clocks to mantel clocks to pocket watches which have moving parts and pieces. Perhaps some of the most popular, not too surprisingly, have been erotic pocket watches, as they are generally termed. If not familiar with them, one could guess what some of the main candidates for the moving pieces might be on those watches. But that is not the focus of clock and watch history here.
Some wonder clocks will, for instance, have a ship that moves or rocks back and forth, sometimes but not always tied to the movement of the grandfather clock pendulum, and in that case generally moving in the opposite direction. Some clocks have moving planets and some feature the Earth’s moon rotating.
Over many centuries, grandfather clocks and other amazing timepieces – giant, large and small – have featured moving animals, including dogs and cats with tails wagging and mouths opening or eyes moving or tongues coming in and out. Clocks with skulls and animals, including owls, show eyes which may not only rotate back and forth, but may actually move to look at the time as it changes, using the eye movements as the clock’s time indicator. Music boxes and nested bells are not unusual in some of the more elaborate clocks automata.
Even one alarm clock, which is pictured below, and was made in the 1940s, shows that “the early bird gets the worm”, a clever alarm clock theme, and has the bird bobbing back up and down every second as the worm moves up and down toward the birds mouth.
Rotating moonphase dials or moon dials on grandfather clocks are another wonderful form of what might be termed lower tech automata. The dials make one complete rotation every 29 1/2 days, in keeping with the actual lunar cycle. In ancient times, these moondial or moonphase grandfather clocks were used by farmers to help them to plan not only for the planting of crops, but also for the harvesting of the fruits of their labors.
Even though this clock shows a still shot, one can see from the time delay aspect of the photo that both the bird, especially its tail, and the worm, have moved in this very short period of time.
We think that clocks with automata have a great future. We are especially excited about grandfather clocks and mantle clocks in this regard. If grandfather clock shoppers, or those seeking mantel clocks, including corporate gift and promotional products, have any ideas for specific clocks with an automata component, we would love to hear from you about any and all of your wall clock, mantel clock, grandfather clocks, alarm clock, wristwatch, or any other specific type of suggestion or request.
The market for rare and finely made vintage timepieces is booming but, as with all collectibles, there are risks. 
An opulent watch — a source of public embarrassment — disappeared from the wrist of Kirill I, patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a doctored photo. Interior decorators and interior designers frequently look to clocks of all kinds, including wall clocks, mantel clocks and grandfather clocks as a way to add touches of color, home decor and a certain ambiance to a living room or bedroom in a home, whether the home is contemporary or classic. One interesting note is that for new home construction, including in high-end residential multiple family structures, both for sales and rentals, we have had some major home builders purchase grandfather clocks to place in their model homes. Guess what? Apparently, many of the home buyer and house buyers will frequently key in on the grandfather clock and ask if they will get that exact clock if they were to purchase a home. We have received a bunch of grandfather clock orders over the years because of this. It is also good that the home builders in these cases went with a new vs antique grandfather clock because it would be difficult if not near-impossible to replicate antique grandfather clocks that are genuine antiques. It would take locating exactly the same model and make, which is not an easy task.
Grandfather clocks in businesses and other organizations such as Universities, Hospitals, Museums, Government Agencies, pretty much you name it, seem to have a need and desire for one or many grandfather clocks to place on their property. Planned communities and residential communities and homes targeting older populations also find a special need or desire for grandfather clocks. Purchasing agents are especially fond of working with us.
It is fascinating to us the extent to which more and more of the population and our customer base consider our website to be an enormous grandfather clock showroom, and appreciate the much greater product selection, from mantle clocks to wall clocks to grandfather clocks, than any single store, including our own, could ever offer to the public.
We have thought many times of devoting a website to which people could post pictures and videos of their favorite clocks. We have even considered standalone websites for each of the major clock makers that we carry, such as one for Howard Miller Clocks, one for Museum Clocks™, another for Ridgeway Clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks and Kieninger clocks. We would absolutely categorize it by type of clock, such was wall clocks, grandmother clocks, grandfather wall clocks, mantel clocks, atomic clocks, novelty clocks, wristwatches, radio controlled clocks, miniature clocks, custom clocks, neon clocks, skeleton clocks, grandfather clocks and automata, including what we refer to as wonder timepieces including congreve clocks and inclined plane clocks, just to name a couple.
Is there a lesson we have learned that we can share? Absolutely. Our opinion is that an investment in a grandfather clock, even or perhaps especially if you are thinking of selling your home or large apartment, will lead to a sale price that significantly exceeds the cost of a grandfather clock.
Did you also know that other terms synonymous with grandfather clocks include floor clocks, hall clocks, grandmother clocks (which are simply shorter versions of the same animal), tall case clocks and longcase clocks.
We invite you to pick up a copy of Architectural Digest, or House & Garden or even Vogue, thumb through the pages, particular when there is a room makeover or home makeover featured story. It is quite likely that you will see a grandfather clock or wall or mantel clock in the “after” picture. We have even been asked to and agreed to supply Vogue Magazine with a particular grandfather clock that they could and would and did use for just that very purpose.
Keep in mind that when you purchase a grandfather clock from 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, you get Free Shipping to the Continental USA and Canada, free in-home set-up by a certified technician (yes, anywhere in the USA!), and we charge no sales tax outside of New York State. Additionally, we always work with our customers to offer the best possible price, because everyone loves grandfather clocks on sale and discount grandfather clocks, and we even spell out our low price guarantee on our website.
Here are some of our current bestsellers. Note that the Howard Miller Clayton Grandfather Clock and the Howard Miller Sewart Grandfather Clock each offer a particularly unique feature, which is a very high quality German mechanical movement which not only has the more customary Westminster Chime, but also has the Beethoven Ave Maria and Schubert Ode to Joy chime options. These chimes are on a number of wall clocks and mantel clocks, but it is especially rare to see them on a mechanical chiming clock, which affords a much higher chiming sound quality.
Howard Miller Stewart Grandfather Clock
List: $4,525.00
SALE: $3,167.50
Howard Miller Clayton Grandfather Clock
List: $4,525.00
SALE: $3,167.50
Howard Miller Neilson Grandfather Clock
List: $4,011.00
SALE: $2,807.70
Whether you are purchasing a grandfather clock, grandmother clock, wall clock, mantle clock, floor clock or atomic clock, you want to get the most clock for the least money. Put another way, the best grandfather clocks value available, and one that will keep its value in an heirloom quality furniture kind of way. So it is not always about the lowest priced clocks, but the best clock one wants and can afford, with the best service, at the lowest price. At 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, we think grandfather clocks for less means more clock and grandfather clock service for the lowest price available. That is why we have our Low Price Guarantee on all the grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks we sell, including Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks, Hermle Grandfather Clocks, the Howard Miller Grandfather Clock Collection and Kieninger and Ridgeway Grandfather clocks.
All of the mechanical clocks from these makers come with German movements made by the venerable firms of Hermle or Kieninger Clocks. All our mechanical grandfather clocks, with the exception of one very high-end Hermle German Astro-Regulator grandfather clock with a 30 day movement, have an 8 day movement, whether cable driven or chain driven. So if you wind your grandfather clock once a week, it will keep ticking and ticking away. If you forget, no problem, one just needs to re-set and wind the grandfather clock end, and following normal instructions, no damage will occur to the grandfather clock.
An added dimension is the flood of cheap imports of low quality grandfather clocks, where most all of the investment by these companies was made in looks vs substance. Now while one could certainly buy one of these types of grandfather clocks for less, one is left with a flimsy shell of a floor clock and a movement that will sound nothing like a higher-end German made mechanical grandfather clock movement from Hermle or Kieninger. Howard Miller grandfather clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks, the Ridgeway Grandfather clock collection, and our own Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks represent the finest in quality and workmanship, with many price point and all clocks that are built to be heirloom quality, but while still providing grandfather clocks on sale that give the best value and savings guaranteed as described.
The service aspect, which in our case includes in-home delivery and free in-home set-up, along with Free Shipping, no sales tax outside of New York, and our low price guarantee, this is truly a case where grandfather clocks for less is MORE.
Please visit our newest addition to our grandfather clock line, Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks, with just a couple of models shown below for reference:
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| Museum Clocks Frodsham II Grandfather Clock List: $5,650.00 SALE: $3,672.50 |
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| Museum Clocks Clement Grandfather Clock List: $6,500.00 SALE: $4,225.00 |
We invite you to see them all and all of our lines of grandfather clocks at the lowest prices guaranteed.=, at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com .
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