Many grandfather clock buyers start out looking for wall clocks, only to realize that what they really wanted for their homes were a floor clock, more commonly known and referred to as a grandfather clock.  Some times a customer just realizes the presence and beauty and sound that can come from a traditional grandfather clock, such as a Howard Miller Grandfather Clock, and other times a customer may actually ask to see what they frequently term a grandfather wall clock.  Some of these shoppers mean a traditional or contemporary grandfather clock while others are referring to a large weight drive mechanical chiming wall clock that they nonetheless think of as a grandfather clock.  One of the basic definitions of a grandfather clock or grandmother clock is that it is free standing, and therefore not hung on a wall.  Mind you we always recommend to our customers, as with any tall, large heavy piece of furniture, to anchor it to the wall as well, so the clock could not be pulled down or fall down on unsuspecting victims, either because of childhood shenanigans or forces of Mother Nature, like an earthquake.

In the last six months we have noticed that many of what might be, or have been, considered to be among the higher end retailers, are now carrying more and more cheaply made clocks at seeming too good to be true but actually bad value prices, with many of the  clock models designed to look very much like the higher price and much better quality clocks that they had previously only sold exclusively, e.g. the higher quality mechanical grandfather clocks made by Howard Miller and Hermle Floor Clocks or Howard Miller Keywound Chiming Mantel Clocks, or Kieninger Grandfather Clocks and mantel clocks.  Ridgeway Clocks and Infinity Clocks, not to mention Black Forest German-made cuckoo clocks by the Anton Schneider Clock Company, and we are now seeing what are essentially cheap knock-offs that frequently require assembly, are made of particle board or thin woods not likely to last for very long, and with movements that do not even begin to compare with, for example, the German made mechanical winding grandfather clock movements that are in all the mechanical grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks we currently sell!

Here are some of our highest end most interesting grandfather clocks, which some might think of as grandfather wall clocks:

Kieninger Edwards Grandfather Clock <-[Links to clock on our website - amazing contemporary tubular chime grandfather clock Made in Germany]

Howard Miller J. H. Miller Grandfather Clock <- [also links to our website - another amazing tubular chime clock with German movement, traditional style, Model 611-030 611030]

Also worth a special look are the:

Many grandfather clock discount shoppers will come into one of our stores, or call us, and ask to see the Big Ben grandfather clock selection we carry.  Almost invariably, they mean grandfather clocks that play the famous Westminster Chimes, which are also played by the Big Ben Clock Tower in the Parliament Building in downtown London England.  Almost everyone will recognize the Westminster Chime played by Big Ben, because aside from it being the most popular chime by far on grandfather clocks, and besides hearing it in London, it is also the chime played by most Churches in the Western World.  You might want to see www.BigBenGrandfatherClocks.com for more details.

We should probably mention that we are aware that there is a clock retailer out there which uses the very clock-friendly and seemingly instantly recognizable name of Big Ben Clocks, but we have no relationship to them whatsoever, nor do we imagine do they to the real Big Ben Clock Tower in London.

Most modern-day or contemporary grandfather clocks will either have a single chime which is the Westminster Chimes, and if the clock is a triple chime grandfather clock, meaning it effectively comes pre-loaded with a choice of three chimes that the owner can switch back and forth between – but never do while the chime is playing – and the other 2 grandfather clock chimes are likely to be the Whittington grandfather clock chime or the St Michaels floor clock chime.  A small number of high-quality grandfather clocks, which we will highlight below, offer as an alternative to the Westminster Chime the Franz Schubert Ave Maria and the Ludwig van Beethoven Ode to Joy chimes, so these 2 grandfather clocks, pictured below, would come the the choice of the Big Ben Westminster Chime, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and Schubert’s Ave Maria chime, something rarely found on a mechanical clock.  Mechanical grandfather clocks have a much superior chime sound quality when they come from a German mechanical made grandfather clock movement, as do these two models.

Howard Miller Stewart Grandfather Clock

model 610-948 610948, plays Big Ben Westminster, Ave Maria and Ode to Joy Chimes

Howard Miller Clayton Grandfather Clock

model 610-950 610950, also plays Big Ben Westminster, Ave Maria and Ode to Joy Chimes

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It is amazing to look on YouTube or Google or search around the web more generally and to see how many people are buying grandfather clocks or grandfather clock chiming sounds of the virtual variety.  There are a gazillion of widget and other file type sound downloads that not only are customizable, but also replicate the sound, for example, of the most popular grandfather clock chime of all, the Big Ben Tower Clock Westminster Chimes.

People, at least some of them, always like to mix the more traditional with the latest and greatest, whether it is in technology or something else.  Hence flash clocks and flash grandfather clocks and wall clocks and mantel clocks have made a comeback in popularity, in addition to real life, in the world of cyberspace.  There are even desktop applications where one can have the sound of mechanical movement Westminster Chimes recorded from Big Ben Clock Tower itself, or your PC or Mac or iPad can be programmed to wake you up to that any many other chiming clock choices.

Now most connoisseurs of grandfather clocks or timepieces in general will always want the real thing and find there is no substitute for a genuine Howard Miller Grandfather Clock, or one made by Hermle Clocks, or a Ridgeway Grandfather Clock, one of our Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks, or a Kieninger Grandfather Clock.While many of us might like to spend time in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, all of us would ultimately rather live in the Castle equipped with a genuine contemporary grandfather clock or one of the more traditional types of grandfather clocks.

While the economy appears to continue to be strengthening, smart shoppers are always looking to purchase grandfather clocks on sale or get as much off as they can on a discount grandfather clock.  While we always try to address that need, we believe as much in top notch service, including free in-home setup by an authorized technician instead of a moving company, and we are always willing to take the time to educate any prospective grandfather clocks shopper on the difference within and between brands and makers, as well as different types of movements such as cable-driven vs chain-driven, and whether a grandfather clock kit should be considered, along with the pros and cons.  New vs. antique grandfather clocks, grandmother clocks and grandfather clocks, grandfather clock plans, Kieninger vs. Hermle movements, and clock kits and grandfather clock plans, much less cheaply made imports which may be dead on arrival, are all aspects of the purchase of grandfather clocks that we consider.

Most all grandfather clock shoppers want an heirloom quality grandfather clock or grandmother clock.  We aim to see these consumers get their moneys worth and are satisfied with their purchase not only for years but also for generations to follow.

Here are some of the grandfather clocks that have been very popular as of late:

Howard Miller Triple Chime Grandfather Clocks

Museum Clocks Grandfather Clock Collection

Museum Clocks™

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This one is almost a magical quote, that any grandfather clock or timepiece enthusiast would appreciate.  Music to my ears.

It is, simply, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” -Albert Einstein.

While you might not need a grandfather clock or wall clock or wristwatch or mantel clock, or even an atomic clock, if everything did in fact happen all at once, it would certainly make for some interesting moments.  Sounds like the basis for a potential great new movie!   Martin Scorseze’s Hugo, with its clocks theme, proved to be both a blockbuster and Academy Award winner.

Somehow it seems to this writer that Leonardo Dicaprio should play a/the leading.  It could be a very short timeline, or perhaps it would be a long one.  And probably no possibility of a sequel, but perhaps a prequel if that time has not yet passed.

Mantel Clocks

http://www.1-800-4clocks.com/mantel-clocks.html