This is a very tall grandfather clock order, yet we believe we have here a veritable treasure trove of information that would be useful for anyone in the market for a grandfather clock.  Whether you are thinking about purchasing an antique grandfather clock, a vintage grandfather or grandmother clock, or whether you are trying to understand the marketplace in general and whether to buy a new grandfather clock, we at 1-800-4CLOCKS are there for you both with these blogs, with many grandfather clock resources available on our website at 1-800-4CLCOKS.com, and we are always only a toll free phone call away at 1-800-4CLOCKS, and are delighted to talk with anyone who is serious about being in the market for a grandfather clock or grandmother clock, not to mention mantle clocks, cuckoo clocks, wall clocks, atomic clocks, and so much more.

We spend a lot of time to delving into the history of grandfather clocks themselves, the evolution of the major grandfather clock brands and how that has changed over time, and continues to be ever-changing.  We attempt to demystify the many features offered on many grandfather clocks, including illuminated dials, automatic nighttime shut-off, working vs faux moonphase dials and so much more.  The grandfather clock chimes are another key element that any thoughtful grandfather clock buyer will want to understand completely, and we address not only the different mechanical grandfather clock movement makers, as well as triple chime grandfather clocks vs single generally Westminster Chimes Grandfather Clocks, and when and where one might expect to see some of the less common grandfather clocks songs or chimes such as Beethoven’s Ave Maria or Schubert’s Ode to Joy.

Understanding the differences within and between grandfather clock brands, such as Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks compared to the Hermle Grandfather Clock collection, or Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, Kieninger Clocks and Americana Grandfather Clocks.  All have pros and cons, and many have big differences even within their own grandfather clock line.

We even include some of the most popular posts about grandfather, grandmother, wall, mantle, cuckoo, atomic and other clocks on our main website, which we term the Best of, like Greatest grandfather clock Hits of music, for posts that our customers and readers have found especially useful.  We have one post on our grandfather clock blog which is titled Moving Grandfather Clocks, and that page is the single most visited page on our website.  We warrant the advice for what you as a customer pay for it, which is nothing, yet we have never had a negative comment or even any suggestions for changing this grandfather clock blog greatest hit of all time.

Any grandfather clock or other timepiece subjects you would like us to cover?  Just make a Comment to this post, or send us an email, or feel free to call us toll-free.  If you want to become a grandfather clock blog contributor, that is something to which we are also always open.

We Aspire to Become As Authoritative Buying Guide for Grandfather Clocks, Wall Clocks and Mantel Clocks as Consumer Reports is in General

Do you have any alarm clocks that are really really loud?  Do you have any tabletop clocks or desktop or carriage clocks that don’t make any ticking sound?  I need a REALLY loud alarm clock to wake up.  How loud is your loudest?

From ticking to chiming to alarm clocks, the vibrancy or loudness of the tick tock or tic tok or toc sound is important to many clock shoppers, whether they are looking at Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks or the Hermle Grandfather Clock Collection — or Ridgeway Clocks, Americana Clocks or Kieninger Clocks, the questions of chiming quality, volume and ability to change, tick tock tick tock volume and the ability to lower or sometimes raise, and the frequent question of whether there is such a thing as a silent wall clock, mantel clock or grandfather clock movement, or on occasion, is there a  way to make the tick tock louder, even much more loud.

LED Clocks, including are soon-to-be-introduced GiganticClocks, make no sound, and with some of them having numerals which are 3 inches and larger, as well as alarms and calendar functions for day of week and the date, these clocks are sure to meet an unmet need, both in more public areas where the large and glare-free numerals can be seen 24×7, and also by anyone with a vision issue or any stage of their lives where memory would be aided by having these other easy-to-read (compared to other clocks on the market) displays.  We also have one LCD Clock which not only has the same super-large numerals and other informational fields (e.g. calendar day of week and date of month, temperature and more), but is also an atomic clock, also known as a radio controlled clock, which is incredibly accurate, theoretically according the the USA Government Agency NIST and many scientific experts, accurate to one-Billionth of a second per year!  While not the case for our large easy-to-see black-on-white LED Atomic wall and mantel clock, which uses batteries, the LED Clocks require an electricity source, with an outlet either immediately behind it, or to be wired and plugged in to a standard electrical outlet, either covered by tubing or simply out in the open.

When one thinks of modern day quartz watches vs the still highly desired and significantly more expensive watch brands like Breitling, Omega, Rolex, Movado, Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piaget, Vacheron Contantin and on and on, there is still no shortage of admirers for the “old-fashioned” craftsmanship where people are willing to pay thousands of dollars more, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars more, when a watch that will keep time as or more accurately can be had easily for under $100. Additionally people can now see the time on their computer, or iPhone 5 or Samsung 4 or other smartphone, and more and more may still be adding iWatches or SmartWatches that are or are rumored to soon be hitting the market, and no doubt increasing in capabilities and quality over time.  It is somewhat reminiscent of the old Dick Tracy cartoon character and his then futuristic watch which allowed him to communicate.

iWatch Would Trample Dick Tracy’s 2-Way Communicator in Today’s Market

Dick Tracy’s 2-way communicator wristwatch would probably not make it to market given the capabilities that appear to already be out there and coming very soon.  Maxwell Smart’s shoe-phone, on the other hand, may still have a chance at gaining some market share if it were to be introduced today.  Call it maybe.

Following what we will term the wristwatch paradigm, we see a long-term and continuing demand for mechanical grandmother clocks, grandfather clocks, mantel clocks, cuckoo clocks, and regular and large wall clocks and gallery clocks.  Brands that continue to offer both dynamic contemporary clock designs as well as more traditional designs for these kinds of clocks true to the traditional ways of making timepieces will still find a market for people who are seeking to keep an element of the traditional as a part of their home and workplaces.

Given the flood of imports and the move to buy American, grandfather clocks shoppers need to be smarter and better informed than ever when deciding on a new grandfather clock, grandmother clock, mantel clock or wall clock.  Cuckoo clocks too!  Having said that, the high-end grandfather clock market has had and has many players, each with their own history and approach, and those approaches to making and manufacturing grandfather clock cases and grandfather clock movements have evolved over time.

Probably the safest way to begin your grandfather clock buying experience is to limit your choices to certain high-end brands, in which we would include the Howard Miller Clock company, Ridgeway Clocks, Hermle Clocks, America Grandfather Clocks and Kieninger Floor and Grandfather Clocks.  There are other makers, but we believe these companies are both the best and offer the best grandfather clock values to customers worldwide.  Even with that, there can be and are many differences within the grandfather clock models offered by each individual clock maker.

Most all high-end grandfather clock movements, whether tubular chime grandfather clocks, or grandfather clocks playing the Westminster Chimes, Schubert Ave Maria Chime, Beethoven Ode to Joy, or the more classic Whittington and St Michaels Chimes, or bim-bam chime, all of the high-end grandfather clock movements of any real quality and made in any large quantity are made in Germany by Hermle Clocks and Kieninger Clocks.  At this point in time, we would not recommend purchasing any grandfather clock or grandmother clock unless it was made by one of these two makers (there would be some exceptions for a very few ultra-high-end grandfather clocks with movements made in extremely small quantities).

So now we move to the grandfather clock case.  Hermle Clocks, a German maker, has recently started making some of its best grandfather clock models right here in Virginia, USA.  Hermle still makes other grandfather clock cases in Germany, and some yet still other Hermle models, while also very high quality, have their grandfather clock cases sourced from the Far East.  Unless you talk with a Dealer like 1-800-4CLOCKS, you will be clueless as to which is which.  It is also important to talk to a knowledgeable person at any clock store, because some people working there at any one time may know little or nothing about the differences between brands, much less within brands.

For Grandfather Clocks, most all of Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks and Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks have cases made in Michigan, USA, and use a German movement, typically by Kieninger Clocks.  Most all Kieninger Grandfather Clocks are made to order in Germany and the cases and movement are from Germany, as with many Herlme Grandfather Clocks.  Americana Grandfather Clocks are such an interesting story and have such a creative approach behind them, and we feel offer great value and some amazing models of grandfather clocks, that we are happy to discuss any particular Americana Grandfather Clock over the phone at 1-800-4CLOCKS (1-800-425-6257), option 1.

Of course the only measure of  the quality and workmanship of a grandfather clock can and should not be the country or countries of origin.  But is is one important part, and can help explain why certain grandfather clock makers have gone to different modes of production in their continuous effort to provide the most desirable grandfather clock models possible to the public at large.

Grandfather Clock Made in USA

The good news, is that if one owns a high-quality brand name grandfather clock such as one by Howard Miller Clocks or Hermle Clocks or a Ridgeway Floor Clock or Kieninger Grandfather Clock, both the expertise and the parts needed, if any, should still be available.  Antique grandfather clocks present a different challenge, especially tubular chime grandfather clocks, but by and large a consumer or business should not have great difficulty, if they know where to look, to get the grandfather clock repair help they need.

One must be extremely careful to deal only with reputable clock repair people, especially as a grandfather clock repair or other repair may involve one or both of an in-home or in-office visit by a clock repair technician, and in many instances the clock repair individual will suggest that, say, perhaps the grandfather clock movement needs to be taken with them so it can be worked on and tested over time.  Therefore, one wants to be as sure as possible that you are dealing with both a competent and honest grandfather clock repair or wall clock repair or mantle clock repair person, whether talking about new or antique clocks.

So how does one find someone they can trust to repair their clock?  Word of mouth can be one reliable way, as well as looking at and investigating the clock repair shops local to you, either by searching in the local yellow pages or typing in a search query at Google, as an example, for clock repair and your zip code.  You mat see reviews right then and there as part of the results.  If you are looking to repair an antique grandfather clock or antique grandmother clock, you might want instead to type into the search engine antique grandfather clocks repair  or antique clock repair and see how the results differ.  In our experience, anyone who can work on an antique grandfather clock expertly will also be able to work on a contemporary grandfather clock.  However the same does not hold true for newer clocks, in that many people who can repair more modern grandfather clocks way be fairly clueless when it comes to antique clock repair.  The simplest and only partial explanation is that for newer clocks, a clock repair shop can frequently simply order a new clock movement and swap it out, as opposed to understanding the parts needed and perhaps either finding them or making them, much less making the grandfather clock as a whole fully functional once again.

Antique clocks can have many advantages, and nor surprisingly, they are generally more expensive to both maintain and repair, which is a major consideration for many buyers of new clocks, particularly new or antique wall clocks, new or antique mantle clocks, and new or antique grandfather clocks.  For cuckoo clocks, it is somewhat less of a consideration, but if one is looking for a cuckoo clock with automata and special features like automatic nighttime shut-off, or a colorful cuckoo clock, one will have many many more choices with a new cuckoo clock.

If you are having trouble finding a good local clock repair place, always feel free to call us, and we will be helpful to the extent we can be quickly.

Here is an example of a grandfather clock repair inquiry we received today, with our response first and the earlier inquiry just below:

Hello Deb –

Yes, we certainly should be able to help you.

If you get back to us with your contact information and approximately what part of town you live in, I will have the best person contact you directly.

If you can say approx how old the clock is and the maker, that may be useful as well.

Kind regards,

Matthew (Levy)

1-800-4CLOCKS

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 9, 2013, at 2:33 PM, Deborah Doe <debdoe-fictional@gmail.com> wrote:

We have a grandfathers clock that was stored for a number of years, and the clock workings were removed. We would like to know if you can put the clock back together for us.  It did work before it was stored.  We have the case and the workings, and are located in Manhattan.

Thank you.

Deb Doe

Grandfather Clock Repair Movement Components

Not only are actual clock shops a dwindling yet hopefully not dying breed – we at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com were forced to close our NYC Grand Central Station Clock store location not for economic reasons but simply because of changing times and needs for existing spaces, and the lack of affordable comparable retail space available, especially with more and more competition from companies similar to ours like us who also have a web-based presence in addition to one or multiple home store locations.

A challenge has been to try attempt to bring as much of the home store shopping experience to the internet, while at the same time maintaining our retail store presence for our more local geographic market.  When a customer is considering one of several high-end Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks or a Ridgeway Grandfather Clock or one of Hermle Floor Clocks, there is a natural inclination to want to see and hear and touch the actual grandfather clock model one is considering purchasing.  At the same time, ironically, we find that a good percentage of grandfather clock shoppers, even those who are searching for grandfather clocks on sale and discount grandfather clocks are frequently the same people who are most in need of a genuine education of the different types on grandfather clocks, the major clock brands, the ones to stay away from at all costs, the differences within individual grandfather clock makers separate from traditional grandfather clocks vs contemporary grandfather clocks, and also the various features, the types of grandfather clock movements, including single chime Westminster Chimes, and Triple Chime Grandfather Clocks, which mostly include the Whittington and St Michael Chimes, but sometimes also Beethovens Ode to Joy and Schuberts Ave Maria.  There are also grandfather clock, mantle clock and wall clock movement differences including tubular chime grandfather clock movement vs cable driven movements and chain driven movements, and even quartz or battery operated movements which nowadays are used in all clock types.

So what is a grandfather clock shopper to do?  Fortunately, in some ways, with careful vetting, researching and locating the grandfather clock or mantel clock or wall clock of your dreams nay be made much easier with trusted internet sites and credible knowledgeable individuals who will be there to answer honestly both the simple and the more complex questions about any clock purchase, whether it be Howard Miller, Hermle, Kieninger, Ridgeway or another, and whether a grandfather clock, grandmother clock, mantel clock, gallery wall clock, atomic clock. novelty clock, and especially antique clocks and antique grandfather clocks, one of our specialties.

To us, as they used to say in grade school and clock school, there truly is no such thing as a stupid clock question, and it is in our DNA and everyone who works with us to attempt to be as informative and patient as possible with any and every prospective customer, whether they end up buying from us or not.  Our policy for years has been to ever work on a clock sales commission basis, and we find some flabbergasted customers when we occasionally tell them for whatever the reason that we think they are better off buying the clock we are discussing at another dealer or even from another individual person.  Of course we need to make money to stay in the clock business, yet we are also driven both by a love of clocks, and seeing that same clock love in the eyes of our customers and helping them with the clock or clocks that will most help make their space or that of a loved one more special to them.

So grandfather clocks online or bricks and mortar clock shopping, or some of both, we strive to give clock customers all the tools they need to make the best decision for them, their families and other gift recipients.  One of our favorite telephone calls to get, even if a sale or non-sale takes 2-3 months to play out, is that I think I want a grandfather clock but I do not really know anything about them.  What can you tell me?  We think even Aristotle would have enjoyed those clock discussions as much as we do.  Perhaps one of the children of the writer of this post, who both have as one of their life’s goals to build a working and reusable time machine, will enable us to test this clock theory and hypothesis.

Howard Miller J. H. Miller II Grandfather Clock

Model 611-031 611031 Limited Edition Tubular Chime Howard Miller Clock by Howard Miller Clocks

Antique clocks always present a special challenge to market in a catalog, as any experienced auction house knows.  There is almost always just one of the antique clocks or watches for sale, so listing these timepieces with a fixed price can create many headaches.  Yet at the same time, despite the currently appearing ubiquitous presence of auctions online and off, from eBay to Christies to Sothebys, many buyers and sellers prefer the old fixed price antique market model, much like one would find in a fine antique clock and watch shop.

Many readers of this blog post, the fifty and over generations, will remember to some degree the old Sears and Roebuck Catalog, that literally set the standard for the catalog direct marketing revolution that it began.  Even the Catalogs themselves became collector’s items, as did reprints of the original Sears Catalogs.

However, fast-forward one hundred years into the future, meaning today, and the web and individual websites like 1-800-4CLOCKS.com have taken over as the modern-days Catalogs of choice.  New grandfather clocks and wall clock collections can be added daily.  Grandmother Clocks on backorder can be noted as such so grandmother clocks on backorder will not disappoint customers.  Complete new lines and brands can be added in a day.  Consumer expectations about the customer shopping experience have gone through the roof, as grandfather clock shoppers and those searching for wall clocks discounts and mantel clocks on sale expect that anything they see on a website for sale is absolutely in stock.

Grandfather clock makers such as Howard Miller Clocks, Ridgeway Grandfather Clock Collection, Kieninger Clocks, and Hermle Floor Clocks are much better then ever before about providing more current inventory data.  Yet at the same time, this grandfather clock, wall clock and mantle clock data will not be real time.  And some clocks, including Kieninger Grandfather Clocks and wall clocks and mantle clocks, and some of the Hermle clock models, including Hermle Grandfather Clocks and Mantel and Wall Clocks can have a 2-4 month lead time and are generally considered prepaid custom orders.  This is hard to communicate either in an old-fashioned direct marketing catalog and even in a great website like the one we have at 1-800-4CLOCKS.

1908 Sears Roebuck Catalog Sold Grandfather Clocks and Watches

The good news is that with the advent of the internet, we are able to offer both selection and savings never before imagined even 20 years ago.  More choices, higher discounts on the best grandfather clocks, better pictures of each clock, and even the ability to hear a specific clock chime and offer supersize pictures can all really recreate the grandfather clock gallery shopping experience.  A tradeoff is that many fewer of us bricks and mortar-type stores are surviving, especially as new and competing technologies are vying for some of the same shopping dollars that were previous spent on grandfather clocks and wall clocks.  Not only can one see the current time on most any personal computer or MacBook, but also on iPhones and other mobile devices including the Samsung Galaxy.

Having said that, there is nothing that competes with the old world charm of a grandfather clock or wall clock or mantle clocks, whether a new or antique clock.  A grandfather clock is truly the heartbeat of the home.