We are always seeking feedback from our customers on how we can improve the grandfather clocks and other clocks we offer, as well as input on adding new ones.

We had ventured into the Pet Clocks™ niche, which we are still pursuing, albeit with fewer resources than we had originally planned.  We read today about a prototype in the works for a 100% solar-powered plane that could fly non-stop (except for maintenance) day and night with no other power source.  Quite exciting.  It will have the wingspan of a commercial jet and yet otherwise look a lot like a helicopter without the rotary blades atop.  If this can be done, surely we can make or find some solar clocks that are better than the ones we, at least, have seen on the market to date.  We want to be more green too!

What about a clock that could talk to you in your own voice, or that of a loved one (or hated or feared one), as your way of waking up in the morning.  Or one with a customized chime?  Would you be willing to pay a lot more for a super-high-quality sound you might want to showcase in your own home?

One area we definitely will be beefing up in the near term is for clocks for the visually impaired or those with hearing problems.  We will likely be adding phones as well, as well of course and very large numeral clocks, in the near future.  One manufacturer promised us their clocks could “wake the dead”.  We can guarantee you that we will be making no such claims.  Yet the range of offerings, from alarm clocks which shake the bed to one which also has a line go on and off and on and off, will be quite impressive.  With the phones, we will likely be offering services or features which are somewhat similar to the First Alert (I’ve fallen and I can’t get up) system which has been on the market for many years.

Stay tuned for some exciting additions.

AND please do let us know WHAT YOU WANT.  We know grandfather clocks are the greatest.  we just want to make sure we meet as many of our customer needs as reasonably possible.

Grandfather clocks have always been one of the quintessential gifts for Fathers Day from their grown children.  We see this happening this time every year, and it’s wonderful to see grown children willing to be so generous to the ones who in many cases gave or helped make them what they are today, and in some cases in spite of that.

Wall clocks and mantle clocks and atomic clocks are also particularly popular as gifts for Fathers Day.  Among the best selling brands are Howard Miller Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks and Hermle Clocks.

While gift-giving of clocks is as popular on Mothers Day as it is on Fathers Day, the one big difference is that many more of the gifts on Fathers Day are grandfather clocks.  Mechanical chiming wall clocks, and chiming mantel clocks, such as those made by companies like Howard Miller and Ridgeway, do an especially  brisk business just before Mothers Day.

Time comes and time goes, but the tradition of giving clocks for special occasions, including a grandfather clock as wedding gifts and milestone anniversary gifts, is here to stay.  We at 1-800-4CLOCKS are quite happy about that.

We have written on our Blogs about grandfather clocks in The White House over many years, including the Oval Office, and the President’s Private Office. The antique grandfather clocks have graced the White House for many generations over time.  If only the clocks could talk, what stories they would tell.

Less chronicled than the White House grandfather clocks, are the wall clocks and mantel clocks that also grace and have added to the decor of the USA’s most well known house for many generations.  We will very soon post a picture of this Wall Clock, known as a banjo clock, that currently hangs in the White House.

There are also mantel clocks, and one we will soon definitely show a picture of, is a ships clock set which include a clock and a barometer, and which we believe were most likely made by Chelsea Clocks.

STAY TUNED for some very exciting photos we will soon be sharing.

At 1-800-4CLOCKS, we are always seeking customer input to be innovative and to meet customer needs and desires.  This is true whether it be for grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks, atomic clocks, or whatever timepiece.

We recently received such a fascinating suggestion, and one we thought worthy of sharing and are interested in any and all reactions! he new product could be an Ant Farm in a Wall Clock or in Mantel Clock, or even a grandfather clock.  Does an Ant Farm enclosed in shatterproof glass as a mantel clocks or wall clocks offering sound possibly appealing to you.  We looked and we have not seen any out there on the market today.

Alternatively, we’ve thought that perhaps there should be only a children’s version on an Ant Farm Wall Clock or Mantel or Desk Clock.  Maybe a kids version would appeal to what would seem to be a more traditional audience.

On the other hand, when one looks at the amazingly successful work of British artist like Damien Hirst, whose work, among many others, like a shark in a tank in formaldehyde have made him a media icon and his name almost a household word, and many other quite interesting and unusual art forms which have both been exhibited in museums and sold for millions of dollars at the major Auction Houses, maybe an Ant Farm as Art in a Clock is a time has come.

Below is one work of Damien Hirst which was seen by the writer of this blog post on exhibit at Lever House in New York City, and subsequently believe sold for literally millions of dollars, along with similar works (this may be a similarly themed work rather than the actual one seen):

Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, by Damien Hirst

So what to you think of an Ant Farm in a clock?  We’ve thought of a new series of clocks entitled Art Form ™ in a clock.  While this may sound either like a self-contradictory idea, as many clocks are indeed amazing art forms and most certainly museum-quality.

We are thinking of what might be viewed by most as “Contemporary Art” Clocks.  These could be grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks or we are open to anything.

Let us know your thoughts.

Damien Hirst - are you possibly interested in teaming up with us?  We would love to work with you, and will see if we can call you.  Give us a call at 1-800-4CLOCKS.  Your work is most certainly cool and cutting edge Art!

Colibri, the Owner of Seth Thomas Clocks, makers of wall clocks, mantel clocks, atomic clocks and more, was forced into Receivership last month, and sadly, apparently 250 emplyees were told on that same day that they had no jobs.  Another retail victim of the recession.

The Company re-opened very briefly, with a skeleton staff to ship out orders, but closed again before they finished processing even the orders they acknowledged.  The future of the company and the Seth Thomas brand is currently uncertain.

Seth Thomas Clocks is America’s oldest clock manufacturer, and has been known especially for their now antique grandfather clocks, as well as weight driven wall clocks, Sonora Bell Chime Clocks, and literally hundreds of other models of mantel clocks and wall clocks.  Seth Thomas Tower Clocks and Seth Thomas Street Clocks of the antique variety are also well known, and can be compared to the quality of E Howard Tower Clocks and Street Clocks, though were produced in much greater numbers, giving time to the public. Their grandfather clock collection, specifically the antiques, are highly collectible and prized.

The Company, in our opinion, has had a rocky history, with various owners over the years, including General Instruments.

Most recently, Seth Thomas stopped offering ANY mechanical clocks of any kind, which was a great surprise to us as that was clearly what the Company was known for historically.

A wall clock in one’s office is, studies have shown, looked at an average of 30-50 times a day.  A watch on one’s wrist, also known as a wristwatch, probably looked at a similar number of times.  A clock on one’s computer is certainly noticed, but at least current adult creatures of habit still look at it with less frequency than dedicated clocks or watches.  And as for looking at the clock on your iPod, fuhgeddaboudit.  iPod users, while we have yet to see a definitive study, tend to look at the clocks on their devices with much less frequency than those who own and wear watches.  But on the bright side, who would buy an iPod for the clock feature anyway?

As mobile computing and virtual realities becomes more pervasive, the future of timekeeping, and the devices used by individuals, will no doubt shift to some important degree.

Having said that, grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks and the like are frequently as much about home decor, office decor, and interior decorating as anything else, so we don’t anticipate major marketplace changes from that vantage point.

Howard Miller Clocks, Ridgeway Clock Collection, Hermle Floor Clocks, Seth Thomas Clocks, and Bulova watches to grandfather clocks are likely to be brands that are here for the long haul.

We expect their popularity will continue unabated both among collectors and interior designers.  And we see this for both clocks and watches of all types, with some exciting innovations no doubt playing a role as we move forward in time.

Happy New Year to all.

One of the most cherished and heart-warming gifts we have seen, with much emotion both from the gift-giver and gist recipient is a grandfather clock given as a wedding gift.  This is also true for grandfather clocks given as a present for a very special milestone wedding anniversary, sometimes from a spouse, and sometimes as a gift from the child or the grown children of a couple celebrating, say, a silver or golden or platinum wedding anniversary.

Clocks can also make a great gift for ringing in the New Year, and perhaps tied into a Christmas present (a little late in the season to be sharing that idea, we realize).  There is a wonderful symmetry in giving the gif of time as the New Year is rung in.  As the ball descends in Times Square ushering in 2010, so do a clocks chimes ring in the New Day every day, and keep old traditions alive.  One of the most appealing traits of clock ownership, both to collectors of antique clocks as well as people buying clocks for home decor purposes for interior design and interior decorating, is the continuity representing by clocks as they have been used for timekeeping, and as wonderful pieces of furniture to boot, for generations before.  Whther an heirloom clock or a new clock, the similarity of purpose and design is ever present.

When the New Year is approaching, how about gathering around a grandfather clock rather than gathering around a television set.  It would be a new approach for many, but perhaps familiar to those over, say, 70 years of age.  A chiming mantel clock or wall clock would be reminiscent of this celebratory approach as well.  Or how about merging the old with the new and using an atomic clock, and one would know with amazing precision when the old year has gone and the new year has arrived.

New Year’s is a time when many visit others, including close family and friends.  How about a clock as a great gift which would have special meaning, and remembered in an unusual and special context for years to come.

And remember, never ever drink and then set the clock’s time.

Our Store 1-800-4CLOCKS, which is a leader in grandfather clocks discounts and sells clocks of all types, was intrigued by inquiries received in advance of the November 4 Presidential Elections.

The request was to purchase atomic wall clocks and atomic mantel clocks that could be used is polling places around the country, being especially helpful when it comes to closing time for the USA polls.  Atomic clocks are known for their accuracy to within a tiny fraction of a second, and being able to synchronize polling closing times was seen as a major benefit.

Among the clocks considered for use on a grand scale were Howard Miller Atomic Clocks.

Which were chosen and used where?  Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to disclose.

We can say that we were not able to offer, yet, an atomic grandfather clock.  Perhaps by the time the next election comes around.

Do you know when you have a certain image of something in your head? Perhaps you have only talked to a person on the phone or through online communication and you conjure up an image of what they look like; and then when you meet them you are completely thrown off because they look nothing like you envisioned them. Or perhaps you imagine what a house looks like on the inside having only seen its exterior year after year – passing it on the way to work – but then when you are invited inside it bears absolutely no resemblance to what you had created in your head.

This is what I thought about clocks to a smaller degree. “Clocks?” you say. “Everyone knows what clocks look like.” But what I’m talking about is the image of what clocks would look like in my home. I have been bucking convention since I was a small child; if it matched I wouldn’t wear it, if it was the way everyone else was going I went the other way, if it smacked of tradition I turned my head; I was never, according to my own beliefs, going to fit into the mold.

Today, I am a wife and mother and while I’m not Betty Crocker by any means I have settled into what is essentially a more conventional type of life. And I’m okay with it; in fact I love it. But when my aunt told me she was sending me a mantel clock for our new home all I could think of was the traditional, old-fashioned clock image I had in my head. But what arrived was something completely different and completely personal and it began my love affair with clocks of all varieties; something that was easily satisfied online as I’ll explain in the next post.

With the economy putting financial strain on so many of us, we have had to make compromises in many areas of our life. While home decorating may seem like the last thing on anyone’s priority list right now, it is still a consideration regardless of the economy; making our home a comfortable place for ourselves and our family can be mentally significant for many of us and it doesn’t have to necessary come attached to a ridiculous price tag.

Clocks, for example, are one of the more affordable pieces that can be used to transform a home’s décor. Oftentimes we think we need to go big in order to make an impact on how our homes look but the truth is that all we really need are those special things that make us happy and say a little something about how we are as people and as homeowners. Clocks deliver on this front as they come in a variety of styles and prices and give us the impact we desire with an affordable price tag.

Through online resources, homeowners are able to find any and all clocks that appeal to them on a multitude of levels; including the price. So while the economy may be calling for a tightening of purse strings in order to come out ahead, there are still options for decorating your home in a way that is completely in line with your personality and your budgetary constrictions. Wall clocks, mantel clocks, grandfather clocks, and atomic clocks; just one placed with care in the room of your choice can have enormous impact.