who likes/collects clocks?

[gottahaveahoove]

I swear it will NOT become a 'collection', but.............
There is a beautiful, old Telchron wall clock here. It was in the house when my parents bought the place. I had it serviced. keeps great time.
My sister bought a cuckoo clock in
Switzerland. After she replaced her kitchen, ( a culinary laboratory, high tech, etc..) it no longer 'fit ' there. One Christmas, she gave it to me. It's great in my house.Then a friend gave me a 'Kit Kat" clock, (orange)..love it.
Now, I have my late aunt's (had a model 70 Convertible) mantle clock: a retirement gift from New York Telephone. I just had the workings replaced, polished, etc. Now, it chimes every quarter hour. I also have a small Waterford crystal and a Lenox china clock. I think I have enough. Although, I would love, someday, to get a 'grandfather clock'. We'll see. I really should never be late for anything.
How does this stuff appear at our homes?

 

[suckolux]

Cool question John, again not sure if I collect but there are many! Some very nice, two old and several of the where did they all come from type.

 

[mjhoshaw]

I love clocks, and I collect them I guess

I love mechanical clocks! Besides 13 quartz clocks throughout my home, I have two grandfather clocks including a cable-wound, triple-chime one I built from a kit, three vintage electric alarm clocks, a novelty Statue of Liberty electric clock, a Telechron wall clock in my kitchen, and six mechanical cuckoo clocks, five of which are musical and one I created using commercially-available clock parts and a high-end, three-tune musical movement in a case I designed and scratchbuilt.


 


One of the quartz clocks is in a custom-made cover for our 1960s Rittenhouse Westminster door chime that came from the factory with a Colonial-style case that doesn't fit our decor.


 


Joel


 

 

[oreck_xl]

I DO!!!

In fact, one movie any clock collector must see is "The Time Machine" from 1960. It was a great Sunday afternoon movie I would watch as a child. Set in 1899, the movie begins with George's (Rod Taylor's) impressive clock collection.

 

[myvacsrock]

Does this count?

 

[gottahaveahoove]

If it is a clock,

and you have it, I would say, "yes".

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I forgot I have a Hoover clock.

I was in a vacuum graveyard once and saw a Electrolux one. My friend almost went into cardiac arrest. My famous line: "Put it in the car".[this post was last edited: 2/17/2022-13:31]

 

[cam2s]

I love unusual time pieces. I’ve come across some cool, but broken clocks in my years vacuum collecting. Unfortunately I’m not very good at clock repair. I used to have a Haller Anniversary clock that I tried to have fixed at a clock shop, it’s MIA now. I’ve always wanted a black Forrest cuckoo, and in fact I do have one. Unfortunately it needs a new movement. Just buying the movement would be about $200. My favorite time piece that worked initially when I got it was my rolling ball clock. It stopped working and I’ve yet to find another working one, at a reasonable price anyways. I’ve attached a few pics of some of the others that I have.

 

[mjhoshaw]

cam2s, ooh, ouch!

I'm very sorry for you that supply chain issues have driven up the price of replacement movements so much. When I built my 8-day musical cuckoo clock in 2017, a Regula no. 34 movement, which is used in most 8-day musical cuckoo clocks, was about $140. Hopefully down the road the prices will fall again. The situation seems pretty dire right now though - the company I purchased my movement from doesn't have *any* movements at the present. Other online sources I looked at are asking $220-280.


 


The $200 may seem like a lot, but if yours is a fancy musical clock with multiple animations, replacing its movement is inexpensive compared to the cost of buying such a clock new. My two high-end factory-built musical clocks were about $1400 new in 2016-ish. Yeah that's a LOT of money for a cuckoo clock, but every hobby has high-end products and consumers who are willing to buy them.


 


Hang in there, and best wishes to you on getting your cuckoo clock working again.


 


Joel


 


 


 

 

[cam2s]

Oh yes well I looked at buying a new cuckoo too, that’s primarily why I was looking for one in the used market. The one I have is a simple one, but even still a new one would be in the $500-$600 range. So yes $200 is a bargain. And cosmetically it’s in great condition too, so just got to save my pennies!

 

[texaskirbyguy]

I am not a clock collector, but I very much enjoy vintage clocks.
The oldest cool one I have is a Westclox Baby Ben from the early 80s - my only good thrift store clock find. I LOVE the phosphorus dial on this thing (in fact I have an obsession with most glow-in-the-dark stuff - always have.) I would love to get more, however I find very few old clocks in thrift stores, despite being on the lookout for them. I bet they get snatched up fast!
However, I hesitate getting anything that has the very old Radium painted dials. After reading the book "The Radium Girls", and knowing how they had suffered, I would rather take no chances.

I had bought a Black Forest 7-day cuckoo clock when the ladyfriend and I were in Germany on our tour of Europe trip in 2005. That was fun taking home in our luggage - clock in carry-on and weights in checked. Security got a charge out ot it, lol...
That clock has been ticking since I had brought it home. It has never been very accurate due to the wood pendulum changing weight as the humidity changes, but is close enough. I have to wind it every 3.5 days due it being above my largest console stereo, so I adjust the time then as needed.

I bought a one-day smaller cuckoo clock at a clock shop in an old TX town in 2012 but do not use it due to constant winding needed. It is mounted on the wall by the back door and constant door use shakes it out of balance anyway so it would often stop. It works great but needed some minor repair when I got it home (the bird fell off inside it).

cam2s - love that light-up text clock - and the ball roller! I have never seen the former before. Sorry to hear about the misfortunes though. If I were in your shoes, I would use those issues as reasons to try to learn more about clock repair. Go slow and easy, and find some cheapos to start out on and practice with. I stepped into that arena with my small cuckoo clock and it was challenging due to small size and delicate parts. I did succeed though.

myvacsrock - Great Premier clock! I now wish i had gotten the Kirby clock that was at my friend's shop a few years back. He just had too big a price tag on it...
He had a neon clock of some sort, too - wish I got it but it was sold fast.

 

[mjhoshaw]

cam2s, I echo texaskirbyguy's suggestion

In 2016 I bought a few inexpensive cuckoo clocks from eBay that needed repairs. In getting them working again I acquired enough knowledge to build my own.


 


Attached are a few images of my custom-built clock, from cardboard mock-up to completion. The interior image is before the gong and the components to activate the music were installed. The URL link is for a short YouTube video of the cuckoo calling and the music playing one of the three tunes.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

beauriful

!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I don't like the ones with dead things on them.

i love that dark wood, too.

 

[rugsucker]

Eastern time--Daylight savings time--Hoover time---

---Dirt Devil time---Filter Queen time---Electrolux time

Does anyone know what time it really is?

 

[human]

I've got a couple...

...that have been in my family for awhile. One is a Seth Thomas wall clock that apparently was connected to the timeclock at my great grandfather's dairy. It has a plate on the front that says "Stromberg Electric Chronograph". The timeclock mechanism is long gone but there is a battery box on top that contains an ancient battery with a 1910 patent date. The unfortunate thing is I've misplaced a couple of pieces since I moved in 2014. There was a little finial that went on the top and another piece that went on the bottom and was constantly falling off. I hope I didn't accidentally chuck them when I was clearing out boxes after my move. The clock was running until the day I left my wife in 2003. It was on the kitchen wall and running but I stopped it and took it off the wall but it hasn't run since.

Another one is a small (five-ish feet tall) grandfather clock that was in my grandparents' living room. It was affectionately referred to as 'grandma' to distinguish it from the larger full size grandfather clock that was in their dining room and is now in my sister's den. Unfortunately, it is not running, either. The weights have been removed, which I think happened after my parents moved it to their house after my grandparents had died. I have no earthly idea how to put the thing back together. I do not know the brand of this clock but it has the legend 'Tempus Fugit' (Time Flies) above the face.

I've also got a Seth Thomas mantel clock that came from my mother's side of the family, which legend maintains was carried west from Massachusetts to Illinois in a covered wagon sometime in the 19th century. Unfortunately, my grandfather got tired of winding it every couple of days and had the mechanism replaced with a newer 8-day movement. It has not run in many years.

I've also got a cute little cathedral shaped Seth Thomas alarm clock that was on my grandmother's bedside table, mostly for decoration. Last time I wound it, it did run but did not keep great time.

Oh, and there's a brass 'anniversary' clock in the china cabinet, which I believe is more contemporary. It has a visible mechanism and sits under a glass dome. It supposedly only needs winding once a year, thus the name. As far as I know, it runs.

Wow, I have more than I first thought.

 

[mjhoshaw]

Gottahaveahoove, thanks, and I agree with your sentiment

FYI, there are two types of so-called hunt clocks. The kind you refer to is the "after the hunt" type. Fewer in number but available nonetheless are "before the hunt" clocks. I have a large one, and the pheasant and rabbit figures are right-side up, unbound, and appear very much alive.


 


Joel

 

[mjhoshaw]

Rugsucker, nice clocks!

I particularly like the Filter Queen one. It reminds me of the countless round, backlit wall clocks that adorned drug stores, jewelry stores, gas stations, and the list goes on and on.


 


Joel

 

[fan-of-fans]

No antiques here, but I do like the old electric clocks of various styles. I have an old GE alarm clock and a Sunbeam plastic mantle clock with chime.

I also collect some newer digital clocks.