Where is the best place to purchase a discount grandfather clock, whether it is a new Howard Miller Grandfather Clock or a special antique grandfather clock?

We feel we know the answer, because it is from the source for all the best information and prices relating to grandfather clocks, which is 1-800-4CLOCKS.

1-800-4CLOCKS.com las a lowest priceg guarantee posted and explained on their website, which should give internet shoppers especially a high level of comfort.  They are also members of the bteer Business Bureau in good standing, as well as being part of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce community.

The brands that are carried are only those of the highest quality, NOT any of the many cheaply made imports now flooding all shopping channels, from some nice department stores to all across the internet, including cheap grandfather clock kits, which, like the others, frequently have many plastic parts and in some cases require diffcult assembly of in our view very cheaply made parts.

Most all of our mechanical grandfather clocks have high-end German made grandfather clock movements, and have solis wood cases generally made either in the USA or Germany.

So if you are serious about buying a high quality grandfather clock, you should check out www.1-800-4CLOCKS.com.  In the summertime, grandfather clocks are common high-end gifts to couples getting married, as well as graduation present, special birthday presents, and gifts for that hard to find milestone wedding anniversary gift.

Hey, it’s what we do.  And love doing it!

As retailers and etailers of grandfather clocks, we notice peaks and valleys in the purchase of grandfather clocks.  One clear trend we have noticed at 1-800-4CLOCKS is that more and more individuals are buying grandfather clocks as presents for themselves, for a wedding gift almost always for a child and there soon-to-be new son-in-law and daughter-in-law.  We also see many grandparents ordering a grandfather clocks as wedding presents for their grandchildren, one frequently similar to “the one” in the family.

People reognize the high-end grandfather clocks we sell as being of family heirloom quality, and our customers are not disappointed almost at any time.

A great trend is grandchildren with the means and desire to purchase traditional high-end grandfather clocks, usually in a traditional grandfather clock style, for their grandparents or, more commonly, their parents.  Generally this is gifting done to mark either a special wedding anniversary milestone gift or a grandfather clock as a birthday gift.

Mechanical, cable-driven grandfather clocks are the most popular, and are also the best clocks.

We are evn seeing this increasing trend cross-border and cross-continent, with orders from Canada, Western Europe, and the Far and Middle East for clocks being ordered for this very reason.

We once had a blog post titled something close to “This is not your grandfather’s grandfather clock.” Well, maybe we were wrong about that one.

Big Ben, as the iconic clock sitting atop the Houses of Parliament in London, turned 150 years old today, May 31.  The clock still runs mechanically as it did and with most all of the same parts as it did when it began ticking away in 1859.  The clock still also plays the Westminster Chimes, which as most clocks enthusiasts know, is the favored chime for grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks and more.

Big Ben Clock Tower Turns 150 Looking Great

As we have noted before and many know, Big Ben actually refers to the bell that is struck, but the name has come into common usage as the name for the clock tower as a whole. We go into more detail on this and other aspects of this wonder timepiece on our website which can be found at the following link: http://www.1-800-4clocks.com/tour-big-ben-clock-tower.html.

July 11th will bring another 150th Anniversary, as that is the date Big Ben actually first struck its bell, telling time with sound and with Westminster chimes.  The clock is generally wound three times a week, and the very minor time adjustments that are made are done by adding weight to the weights equivalent to the size of USA pennies.

The 4 sided timepiece masterpiece has always captured the imagination of legions around the world.  One of the more amusing ways the Big Ben Clock has been in the news in recent generations has been by ongoing rumors that the British Government has decided to turn Big Ben digital.  As far as we know, this first dates back to a 1980 broadcast by the BBC on April Fools Day where they announced that Parliament had made this decision, and phone lines were opened to sell parts of the famous clocks facade, including the hands.  Calls came in with offers from as far away as Japan, and this April Fools Joke has gone down in the annals of history as one of the greatest, perhaps in the Top 100, April Fools jokes of all time!

We have seen postings in Blogs at other times, and we have to say that frankly some of them seem to think the news is real and new, or perhaps they are only hoping others will pick it up.  Below are some “actual pictures” of the Digital Big Ben Clock”:

Big Ben Clock has gone digital AND accepts Advertising for Coca Cola

Big Ben Goes Digital for April Fools Day IMAGERY ONLY

Houses of Parliament with Digital Big Ben Clock FOR FUN ONLY

But SERIOUSLY, HAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY DEAR BIG BEN CLOCK, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Is your grandfather clock running too fast or too slow?  If so, what should you do about it.  This is a question we get asked many times, and we are attempting to provide here a useful guide for most owners of clocks.

Before deciding whether to raise or lower what is known as the pendulum bob - the usually brass round  weight near the bottom of the pendulum - it might first worth be asking whether the grandfather clock had been running fine for many years.  If so, and it has, say, after 5 or 10 plus years after purchasing it, a slow-running clock may be a symptom of a clock that needs a good cleaning and oiling.  If so, find a good local grandfather clocks repair center.

But what if your grandfather clock is new, or you’ve recently moved it, and it needs adjustment?  If your grandfather clock is RUNNING TOO SLOW, one should LOWER the pendulum bob to make the clock’s movement run faster.  If the clock is RUNNING TOO FAST, one should raise the pendulum bob to make the clock’s movement go slower.  One needs to have patience and be willing to experiment with how many turns of the screw beneath the pendulum will affect your clock.  Checking against a computer clock or other reliable timepiece once a day is a good idea, as is keeping notes of how many turns of the screw were made and the impact it had on the time.

Another key question is WHAT DIRECTION does one turn the screw beneath the pendulum to raise or lower the pendulum bob.  While it does not work the same for all clocks, the large majority of clocks made in the last 50 years will allow one to follow the direction of turning the screw clockwise or right to raise the pendulum bob and make the clock go faster.  Conversely, for most grandfather clock movements, if one turns the screw beneath the pendulum bob counter-clockwise or left to lower the pendulum make, it will make the clock go slower.

The best advice we can give is to try moving the pendulum bob a turn for every minute, for, say, up to a 10 minute daily variation vs. the correct time.  Recalibrate after seeing the results after 24 hours, and decide what to do the next day.

A final note.  We recommend not seeking the perfection of an atomic clock, but rather getting your clock to be accurate within, say, a minute or so per day.  After all, another way of looking at it is you can spend $25 for a very accurate quartz watch or many thousands of dollars for a Rolex, Audemars, or Vacheron Constantin.  One is buying more than accurate timekeeping when investing in a grandfather clock.

Howard Miller Newman Grandfather Clock Model 611-120 611120

In the past, this grandfather clocks blog has shown that the White House has been home to a Grandfather Clock, perhaps well over a hundred years.  From looking at the latest issue of Time Magazine, we were pleased to see that not only is there the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, but there is also another one in President Obama’s Private Office as well, shown in a photo with him sitting behind a desk with a painting of former President Ulysses S Grant in the background.

This strongly suggests that The White House has been home to grandfather clocks for well over a 100 years.  And that the President’s have always seen fit to keep these clock masterpieces on display throughout the generations.

Howard Miller Clocks currently has makes Limited Editions of Presidential Grandfather Clocks, with grandfather clocks named for Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy (sold out), and we believe Gerald Ford being the most recent introduction.

We would vote for a Barack Obama limited edition grandfather clock to be made, if not by Howard Miller, then by another major clocks manufacturer.  Perhaps if over time no one fills this need, then perhaps 1-800-4CLOCKS will manufacture this clock ourselves.  Any potential buyers out there? Let us know!

Grandfather Clocks in White House Obama's Private Office Ulysses S Grant Painting

As no office should be without a grandfather clock, the White House Oval Office also proudly displays a grandfather clock all the time, and has through the administrations of many Presidents.  Here below is are photos of grandfather clocks hard at work in the Oval Office with President Obama and others.

President Obama Chief of Staff and grandfather clock on St Patricks Day

Sasha Obama admiring grandfather clock while being praised by President Obama

Grandfather clock buyers, collectors, sellers, and all horology beginners to experts - here is a new one to think about.  At least new for us and grandfather clocks.  We had a grandfather clock customer who claimed to recently have conducted a study which concluded, with what scientific framework or methodological rigor we do not know, that buyers of grandfather clocks frequently gravitate to grandfather clocks that somehow look like them.

Now while we have occasionally seen some grandfather clocks buyers wearing bonnets atop their heads, we have yet to encounter a customer with a split pediment or swans neck.  We have met some who might do well on American Idol were they to perform the major grandfather clocks chimes, such as the Westminster Chime, Whittington Chime, Shubert’s Ave Maria Chime or the wonderful Beethoven Ode to Joy Chime.  But that sounds like, not looks like!  Yet this study apparently claims that much like individuals frequently look like the dogs or cats they own, or some say come to look more like each other over time, they conclude the same can be true with grandfather clocks and their buyers.  We were told that this was discussed over in merry old England, and while only anecdotal over there, that owners and family members do sometimes look like their longcase clocks or tallcase clocks, even when those clocks have been passed through generations as family heirlooms.  We wonder, which came first — the grandfather clocks gene or the biological family genes passed on through the ages?

We requested pictures or photos of clocks and their owners, and even did some searching ourselves, and while we came up emoty, we were told that no one volunteered to be photographed to demonstrate this correlation, and sharing photos could get them in legal hot water or trouble.

Do you believe this?  We personally have our doubts.  But it is quite an interesting grandfather clocks theory, and one we thought worthy of at least documenting.  Strangely, we could find no references from the major search engines to support this kind of claim.  So if it is in fact true, remember you read it here first!  We know inquiring minds want to know as much as possible about clocks, so we strive to bring you the latest all the time.

If you have any photos and stories you would like to share on this subject, please do write to us, and we will gladly share anything that seems newsworthy or “grandfather clocks worthy”.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to go back to the clocks shop!

In a post on this blog shortly after the November Presidential General Election, we featured a picture of then-President Bush talking to President-Elect Obama from the Oval Office, with a historical White House clock in the background.

After President Barack Obama took office on January 20, the pictures of him working in the Oval Office on the first day of his new Presidency show that VERY SAME Grandfather Clock in the background.  You can see the 2 pictures below.  One thing for sure we can conclude this time, is that whether a Democrat or Republican or somewhere in-between, or whether we are in “post-partisan” politics now or not, American Presidents still have great taste in grandfather clocks!

President Obama and Rahm Emanuel on Day 1 in Oval Office with Prized Grandfather Clock

Now Ex-President Bush and grandfathers clock call Now President Obama

President Bush and grandfather clock call President-Elect Obama on Election night offering congratulations

We would also like to thank one of our blog readers for posting history about this grandfather clock, which we are repeating here for convenience purposes:

From Answer.com article on the Oval Office: [courtesy of K. Nixon]
“A large case clock, commonly called a grandfather clock, built in Boston by John and Thomas Seymour, c. 1795-1805, stands in the northeast portion of the room.”

Grandfather clocks are both cool or hot, depending upon one’s terminology, and we have a great grandfather clocks selection at 1-800-4CLOCKS.

Grandfather clocks sound so stately and yet essentially innocuous.  It is amazing how many times we hear from our customers that when a loved one from an older generation passed on, how disappointed individuals can be by not being the ones to either be the designated recipient of a grandfather clock.  Or sometimes their sibling or another relative entirely either just got to the place first, or it was the farthest thing from their mind at the time of a loss of a loved one.  And those same people, either months or years or sometimes decades later feel as though they are missing, at least directly, and sometimes it manifests itself as missing the sight and sounds and memories, and a part of their physical family history.

Many grandfather clock shoppers are trying to fill in that void, and at the same time perhaps get a clock that while it may be antique looking in nature, more closely resembles their more modern home decor and they can also benefit from some of the more modern features, such as automatic nighttime shutoff, or choice of more chimes than were available on the clock they grew up with, or remembered from visiting grandma and grandpa.

While major family feuds are not something we hear about a lot, and only occasionally, the loss and regret generally seems to seep in over the years, frequently as individuals are going through the same stages as parents that they did as children.

The good news is that people can generally almost always find a clock that resembles closely the grandfather clock they grew up with, and then have the choice of picking that one, another one with perhaps a different design, and it will still bring them the same pleasure.

As a clocks retailer, it is genuinely uplifting when we can help people fill a void in one’s life and, as we have been told several times, feel like they have a true home once again.

The vast majority of high-end mechanical grandfather clocks, whether they have cable driven movements or the chain driven movement type, have 8 day movements.  This means the movements, when fully wound, will run for eight days.  This is true for Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks, the Ridgeway Grandfather Clock Collection, Bulova Grandfather Clocks, and the made-to-order Kieninger Grandfather Clock Collection.

One question we are asked with some regularity is whether a grandfather clock can be damaged if it is allowed to wind down completely, or if it is stopped - by stopping the pendulum - while the weights are, say, halfway down.  The short answer is no, this should not hurt the mechanism of one’s grandfather clock.  The grandfather clocks are built to both withstand the pressure of the weights if they are partially down or fully down.  When winding a chain-driven clock, it is important, as it would be all the time, not to pull the chains too hard so that the weights go higher than they should.  But this would not be any different whether the chains are being pulled up after 7 days or after the clock has stopped and fully wound down after eight days.

Many super high quality grandfather clocks in fine condition that have been owned by the person writing this post have been left more or less as decorative pieces vs. timekeepers and chimers, in some cases for years, and these floor clocks are no worse for the wear, or perhaps the lack of wear!

Grandfather clock maintenance is of course still critical, with most experts recommending a cleaning and oiling at least every 3 years, as the oil will tend to dry out over time and cause more wear on the internal mechanism if it is not sufficiently lubricated.

Oh, and to start your grandfather clock up again if it has stopped (aside from any necessary winding, of course), don’t forget to move the pendulum on your mechanical grandfather clock with gentle nudges or pushes or swings from each side until you hear it ticking away and can hear a consistent ticking sound, known in the trade as being “in beat”.

Wishing all clock collectors, admirers, and everone else in the world a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2009!

In modern times, at least in most New Year’s celebrations witnessed by the author of this blog post, people who are indoors generally huddle around the television set as midnight is approaching.  Nowadays, many may be watching giant LCD screens or plasma or HDTVs, but the feelings are similar whether watching a 10 year old flat panel television, or a more dare I say primitive TV that might be 15 or 20 or so years old.  Could be cable, satellite, or the old fashioned analog signals (last year for that!) streaming and picked up through the air.

Most sets watch the change in time by watching as other huge crowds assemble in places like Times Square in New York, not far from our very own clocks Store.  One can also witness celebrations going on in different parts of the USA and different parts of the world.  And it is a holiday with such anticipation and high expectations placed by individuals on themselves.  A time for reflection.  A time to think about the future.

Now pretend you are going back 100 years in a time machine.  No television.  No electronics, period (if you are younger than 20 and reading this, you may want to take a deep breath right now ……).  So how might you celebrate the ringing in of the New Year?  Not unlikely is that many families probably celebrated the New Year coming in and the passage of the old one looking at a grandfather clock.  It is not hard to imagine families around the country and around the world, in their own homes or with others, ringing in the New York as the grandfather clocks were striking 12.

Even before grandfather clocks were first introduced in the mid 1600s, and at that time owned only by the most wealthy and powerful individuals of that era, people had smaller timekeepers which would have helped them know when to shout for joy, blow horns, kiss, or whatever the conventions of the time dictated.

When sundials were used before, I wonder exactly how New Years were celebrated in different eras in diffirent cultures.  Maybe in another blog post we will research and report on that.

My personal favorite way to spend New Years is to be at the movies with a loved one(s), and not even know exactly when midnight comes and goes.  Different, I know.