Which grandfather clocks are the best? Who is considered the highest-end manufacturer of grandfather clocks?  Is there a big difference between brands?  What about German mechanical grandfather clocks with movements made by Kieninger or Hermle — is one better than the other?  What about the difference between grandmother clock and grandfather clocks?  And cable driven floor clocks vs. chain driven grandfather clocks?

These are all great questions, and by far the lions share of questions come in about Howard Miller grandfather clocks, or is it Herman Miller grandfather clock the name – this is a question we still get almost daily.  Grandfather Clocks by Howard Miller Clocks are by far the best known grandfather clock name out there, and generally speaking have enjoyed the reputation as being the highest end of any grandfather clock makers who produce grandfather clocks in any quantity.  Certainly not far behind, and logically on a par, are Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, which was an independent grandfather clock company, but was purchased by Howard Miller Clocks about 8 years ago, and in recent years have had both the cases and movements made in the same places and have used the same German Kieninger grandfather clock movements for comparable models.  Essentially these Ridgeway Flooor Clocks are simply different models of the same clocks made by Howard Miller, but with the Ridgeway Clocks name on the dial instead of the Howard Miller Clock name on the face of the clock.

Hermle grandfather clocks are, we believe, on a par with the quality and worksmanship of Howard Miller and Ridgeway Clocks.  All of their higher-end models use cable-driven mechanical movements made in Germany, with Hermle Grandfather Clocks having their own German Hermle mechanical movements inside.  Hermle and Kieninger mechanical grandfather clock movements are extremely comparable.  Kieninger Clocks is nowadays owned by Howard Miller Clocks, while interestingly, Howard Miller used to have only Hermle mechanical movements in their own grandfather clocks.  Sligh grandfather clocks and Bulova Grandfather Clocks have also has the German made Hermle mechanical movements in their grandfather clocks.

Chiming mechanical grandfather clock movements are also comparable whether one is comparing Hermle Grandfather Clocks, Ridgeway Floor Clocks, or the Howard Miller Grandfather Clock selection.

Hermle Floor Pendulum Clocks and mantel clocks and wall clocks is a company and name with a tremendously long and rich history, making clocks since the mid-1800s.  Many antique grandfather clocks still around today were made by Hermle.  Today,  Hermle grandfather clocks are a choice and serious grandfather clock or grandmother clock shopper should look at when considering alternatives.  When looking at grandfather clocks on sale, and at discount grandfather clocks, it’s always a good idea to see what specials are going on for each of these brands.  The good news is that one really cannot make a bad choice when choosing any of a Howard Miller, Hermle or Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks.  On other grandfather clock makers, stay tuned for further developments.

When shopping for a grandfather clock, most grandfather clocks shoppers look only at brand new floor clocks, recognizing that if they purchase a high quality grandfather clock, such as those made by Howard Miller Clocks and Hermle Clocks and the Ridgeway Clock Company, the grandfather clock will have all of the features they might reasonably want, and there should be immediately be a working grandfather clock which will peform all of its functions, including timekeeping and chiming, with little chance of breakdown for many years.

When one is considering an antique grandfather clock, one has to be both very knowledgeable about not only the authenticity of the grandfather clock, but also its inner workings, functionality, and restoration or maintenance that may be required.  Buying an antique grandfather clock without the benefit of expert input can be compared legitimately to buying a used car when one knows nothing about cars and their inner mechanisms or how to spot signs of previous accidents, changed engines, and more.

While we love antique clocks, and have sold many hundreds if not many thousands of them, a respectable honest clock dealer should be very up-front about all the issues that currently do or soon may accompany the grandfather clock.  There are two big risks.  One is that the antique grandfather clock or antique grandmother clock that you are buying may not be all original, known in the clocks trade as a marriage, and therefore may be relatively worthless as a collectors item.  The second biggest risk is that one may be finding themselves being the proud owner of a grandfather clock project, which may not only be a money pit, but also a time pit as well.

If one goes into purchasing antique grandfather clocks with the right kind of knowledge and eyes wide open, it can be a tremendously rewarding experience.  The same holds true for antique wall clocks, and mantle clocks antique as well.  But no what you are getting yourself into.

The other trade-off to consider between antique grandfather clocks and a new, say, Howard Miller grandfather clock, is that at the same price point, one will get an infinitely more fancy case and wordwork, and many more features such as auto night shut-off, a working moonphase or moondial on the clock, westminster chimes or even triple chimes, and perhaps a lit dial or lit cabinet.  If all of these features existed on a comparable antique grandfather clock, the cost would likely be 10 times as much as the price for the new Howard Miller Clock or Ridgeway Grandfather Clock.  Many antique grandfather clocks and simply time and strike only, with the grandfather clock gonging on each hour for the number of hours representing the time.  One important difference in this regard is that most antique grandfather clocks will have a strike volume that may well be five to ten to twenty plus times higher than modern day cost.  The other factor to consider is resale value, with antique clocks, while requiring much more due diligence and perhaps investment of time and money, they are generally speaking, if one gets a good deal, more likely to be a good financial investment.  This is simply our opinion based on historical observations, and any single case may be different now, and most certainly so in the future.

Press Release.  We have some exciting grandfather clocks news to report.  As background, the Sligh Furniture Company stopped making Sligh Grandfather Clocks perhaps 6 to 8 years ago.  Then about 5 years ago, the Bulova Grandfather Clocks Company, a division of Bul0va Clocks, bought the design rights to the Sligh Grandfather Clocks, and continued to make many of the same grandfather clock models made by Sligh, only with the Bulova name.  Now stick with this, because it gets complicated and is quite interesting.  When Bulova began introducing many of the same Sligh Grandfather Clocks models with the Bulova clock name, the clocks were identical, and made by the very same people in the very same place with the very same materials in the very same location.  These Bulova grandfather clocks, in addition to being identical to the Sligh grandfather clocks as described above, also used the identical German-made Hermle movements that had been used in the comparable Sligh Clocks.  Then, about 6 months ago, Bulova clocks itself decided to exit the grandfather clocks market place.  Currently, we at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com have only a handful of the Bulova grandfather clocks in stock.

Now for the exciting new grandfather clock news.  The company and individuals that actually made the clocks both for Sligh Gramdfather Clocks and later Bulova Grandfather Clocks has just shared with us that they will very soon be introducing many of the same grandfather clock models made earlier by Sligh and Bulova.  Not only that – they will also be offering new designs of grandfather clocks, and some of the same previous designs but also for the first time in a choice of wood and finish.  These grandfather clocks will still have the same German Hermle mechanical grandfather clock movements, and will still be made by the same people in the same place that the Bulova and Sligh grandfather clocks were made.

We presume that many of the grandfather clock models, especially when the same grandfather clock model is offered in, say, oak or cherry or walnut, will in some cases require a special order with some lead time for grandfather clock construction and delivery.

Some of the nicest floor clocks made by Bulova are of the size that they can be considered grandmother clocks or grandfather clocks.  Tallcase and Long case clocks that straddle roughly the 80 inch size in height are what we use as the defining characteristics of free standing weight driven pendulum clocks that can be termed grandmother clocks or grandfather clocks.  Floor clocks is another common term used to describe both, as is Hall Clocks.

These clocks will also offer an excellent alternative when grandfather clock shopping to Howard Miller grandfather clocks, Hermle grandfather clocks, the Ridgeway grandfather clock collection, and the special order Kieninger grandfather clocks.  For those that may be wondering, and we get this question quite frequently, Seth Thomas is no longer making grandfather clocks, and new Seth Thomas grandfather clocks have not been made or sold for well over a decade.

Another wonder feature of many of the old Sligh grandfather clock designs is that many were reproductions of antique grandfather clocks.  Some of them had pretty incredible and historic grandfather clock designs.

We can also expect these grandfather clocks to be offered with both the Westminster Chime, as well as many models also having the traditional grandfather clock triple chimes, which also include the Whittington and St Michaels option built in.  This sometimes confuses customers, but the triple chime grandfather clock means that the individual clock purchaser can listen at any one time to any of the three grandfather clock chimes.  The grandfather clock comes built in with all 3 clock chimes (NOTE: one has to be careful about when and how to switch from one chime to another, following the owners manual carefully and never ever switching a chime, or even moving a grandfather clock hand, when the clock is about to or is or just finished chiming its grandfather clock melody or gongs counting the hour or hours).

We look forward to bringing you new information on these new grandfather clocks for sale, as soon as we know more that is worth sharing.  We also expect to be able to offer grandfather clock discounts on these clocks, with greater grandfather clocks discounts than usual, because we will be selling these clocks to you direct from the manufacturer.

Perhaps you have read over the last day or two about a Baby Grand Piano that was mysteriously found floating but grounded on a sandbar in Key Biscayne Bay in Florida.

Now would not it have been as cool or more so if a grandfather clock or grandmother clock were found sitting on that same sandbar, or perhaps, and I am getting inspired here, having multiple grandfather clocks each on its own tiny raft, and providing the time and chimes and gongs to passing boats and passerby’s. Maybe sometime soon, and remember you read it here first. I can see a cluster of grandfather clocks such as a Howard Miller Grandfather Clock, one of the Ridgeway grandfather clock collection choices, an autowind Hermle Floor Clock, and, after all, at least 1 time and tide clock, an atomic wall clock suitably mounted, and 1 nautical ships bell clock.

Interesting thing about taking credit for a creative idea, whether a piano in the middle of a Bay, or almost anything. Interestingly, a baby grand piano is very much the same type of item a person who buys a grandfather clock might also own, or considering owning. Same holds true for a person buying grandfather clocks being a similar demographic to piano shoppers (some stores, of which this writer knows of none currently in existence, carried on their floor both grandfather clocks and pianos in their showrooms). Once the piano caper, as I will call it, started to get a lot of national publicity, see piano not a grandfather clock by clicking here , others started claiming credit for it as their idea.  It was not.  Finally, a 16 year old boy, who at least now if not before is calling himself an artist, said he placed it out there as a statement of his creativity.  He hopes it will help him get into a college of his choice.

While it most probably will work, a grandfather clock on a sandbar would have made him an absolute shoe-in at any institution of higher learning.

The terms Floor Clocks is essentially synonymous with grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks.  Longcase clocks, as they are also known, have a free standing case, with rectangular shaped waist, almost always in wood, with a swinging pendulum and one to three weights.  The chiming mechanical grandfather clocks play Westminster chimes most frequently.  Floor clocks with triple chimes most frequently also have a choice of the Whittington Chimes or the St Michael’s Chimes.  In recent years, Howard Miller has introduced mechanical grandfather cl0cks that also play the Beethoven Ave Maria and Schubert Ode to Joy Chimes in addition to the Westminster Chimes, also known as the Big Ben Chimes.

Grandmother Clocks, simply put, are simply shorter versions of grandfather clocks, which may also include signature designs such as being thinner.  Yet grandfather clock height, with the dividing line we generally use being eighty inches, in where one may cross the height line between grandmother and grandfather clocks.  It is worthy of note that many other experts may use different height, or even trait, definitions of the distinctions between Floor Clocks known as grandmother clocks and grandfather clocks.

Granddaughter Clocks, which are generally much much smaller, maybe two to four inches in height, have also been popular at different points in clock and horological history.  At the time of this writing, it is really only antique granddaughter clocks that one is likely to find for sale.  None of the major high-end grandfather clock makers, including Hermle Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, Bulova Clocks, and Howard Miller Clocks offer granddaughter clocks for  sale.

It is worth noting here that 1-800-4CLOCKS introduced successfully Grandson Clocks™ a couple of years ago.  In some ways these may be similar to miniature grandfather clocks, but are generally larger than most all of those miniature floor clocks.

Which term do you prefer?  One of the above?  How about Hall Clocks, also used by many high-end makers including Herschede Grandfather Clocks, or Tall Case Clocks, a term used particularly in England and to a lesser extent in Western Europe in general.  Let us know your thoughts.

In the last 24 hours, this writer has talked with 2 different customers who were grandfather clock shopping, looking at new grandfather clocks.  They both had been quite satisfied with the previous grandfather clock brand they had purchased, yet each felt they needed a new clock.

Well, as it turned out, each of these customers had not had their grandfather clocks cleaned or oiled in the 20+ years  that each had owned their respective floor clock. And what about replacing the movement, because the cases were each in fine condition.  As it turned out, each of these customers, coincidentally, wanted to give away their existing grandfather clock to a friend or family member, and themselves upgrade to what each saw as a nicer grandfather clock.

Which leads to the point of this post, which is grandfather clock maintenance.  Any mechanical grandfather clock with any quality movement should be serviced, including a cleaning and oiling, at least once every three to five years. We get many calls from customers, who will frequently tell us that their grandfather clock stopped working after, say, 14 or 18 years.  And they had never had their clock serviced.  After many years, even in the best of circumstances, of nothing else, as the oil dries out in a mechanical movement, aside some additional friction which may be caused by dust and dirt build-up, this can then severely damage the mechanical movement.  Without getting into the technical details, this is why regular grandfather clock maintenance, and maintenance of all mechanical clocks, is so critical to the longevity of the clock.  This is true for mechanical wall clocks, mechanical mantel clocks, brackets clocks, grandmother clocks and more.

The very good news is that with proper maintenance, your mechanical chiming grandfather clock, such as those made by Howard Miller Clocks, Hermle Clock, or Ridgeway Clocks, should give you and your family many generations of pleasure as an heirloom quality object of art to be treasured time and time again.

Here below is an actual letter we at 1-800-4clocks.com received from a grandfather clocks customer who recently purchased a really nice cable-driven Howard Miller grandfather clock for his Father as a very special gift.  Read it, enjoy, and think.

I wanted to thank you for all of your help with placing my order. I received the clock yesterday and as you said, setting it up was pretty easy. Even easier than I expected it to be. I should also let you know that your delivery service was great. They arrived exactly when they said they would, which gave me time to get everything set up before my dad got home from work.

When my dad got home from work I presented the clock to him and he was overwhelmed. Tearing up, he told me that he had abandoned his dream of ever owning one because of all life’s other financial demands.   He was simply stunned.

But what really showed how special it was is how much he knew about the clock without even looking at the manual. He immediately identified it as a Howard-Miller. When the clock gonged on the hour, he immediately identified it as the “Big Ben Gong”.   He knew the difference between the the three chimes and even began telling me about their origins. He looked inside the casing and was able to explain to me how the moon dial worked, which gears and weights operated the chimes and the gong and the clock mechanism itself, and even knew why and how to wind it.

I knew he’d always wanted one, but I never knew just how much this man loved clocks.

So thank you again for your help. I offer my best wishes that your family and business stay healthy and thrive this Christmas and in the new year to come.

Merry Christmas,
Name withheld

P.S.  Attached is a picture.  Sorry it came out a bit blurry.

We at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com get many requests for varying forms of customization of grandfather clocks.  Some are easy, such as adding a engraved brass plaque strategically placed on the grandfather clock.  Others are much more involved, with customers wanting to use corporate logos on dials, or even of the pendulum of the grandfather clocks.

We must always be careful that whatever trademark of a logo, whether it be of a cartoon character, university, corporation, major baseball league or NFL or PGA, that we either have the requisite permissions and/or that we are not violating any trademark or copyright laws when we produce custom grandfather clocks.  The same holds true when we are making customized wall clocks, custom office clocks, atomic clocks, or mantel clocks.  The same rules apply as for a custom grandfather clock.

As most readers would imagine, individuals can be quite creative when coming up with ideas for customized grandfather clocks.  Pictures of loved ones on the dial, a sketch of an individual on the pendulum bob, wedding anniversary pictures — the perfect wedding anniversary gift — pictures of the bride and groom to be, or shortly afterward with an actual wedding photo can be the ideal wedding gift.  Then there are grandfather clocks with cartoon characters, company logos, individual names, and many other variations.  Grandfather clocks with customized sounds or voices, or even custom clock chimes, is a request we get quite often.  We may one day be able to meet this market need, but not as of yet.

Many organizations use the customization of grandfather clocks or mantle clocks in particular as recognition awards, sales achievement gifts, years of service award, retirement gifts, corporate party gifts, incentive awards, and for promotional incentives or specialty gift prizes.

How creative can you be in the design of a one of a kind grandfather clock?  Grandfather clocks are a gift that can be treasured by generations, and an interesting of effective customization could help in making the floor clock or grandmother clock even more of an heirloom quality special piece of furniture than it ever otherwise could be.  Tell that one to your interior decorator or when consulting with your interior designer on your home decor.

How many grandfather clocks do you display in your showroom?  Will I see the complete line of Howard Miller grandfather clocks and Ridgeway grandfather clocks when I visit one of your stores or locations?

These are questions we get very frequently.  Some want to see the entire line of the Howard Miller Presidential Grandfather clocks such as the Eisenhower grandfather clock, the Reagan grandfather clock, or the Taylor grandfather clock, which are the most popular floor clocks.  Others want to see the JH Miller Howard Miller Grandfather Clock or the tubular chime JH Miller II Howard Miller Floor Clock.  May just want to look and compare the woods and quality of different clocks and grandfather clocks by brand and by type.  Some just want to hear the Westminster Chimes, or hear the chiming of the Schubert Ave Maria Chimes or the Beethoven Ode to Joy chimes that are on the Howard Miller Eisenhower II Grandfather Clock or the Howard Miller Clayton or Howard Miller Stewart grandfather clocks.  Hermle grandfather clocks and the Ridgeway grandfather clock selection are also eagerly sought to be viewed by clocks shoppers.

No matter whether it is a limited edition grandfather clock, a contemporary grandfather clock, one of the classic traditional grandfather clocks, or even our antique grandfather clocks, customers frequently naturally want to touch and hear and feel these clocks before they make grandfather clock purchases of thousands of dollars.  This is true whether one is offering the best grandfather clocks on sale or deepest grandfather clock discounts.  Or whether they are interested in grandfather clocks or grandmother clocks.

And beware the exchange policies of many grandfather clock retailers.  The most savvy consumers who actually read the fine print will find that the “no hassle” money back guarantee is actually void once the grandfather clock’s container is opened.  And even if no restocking fees are charged, watch out for the Return Shipping Fees for which the customer on his or her own will sometimes be responsible.  This can easily amount in many instances to around $1,000 plus or minus a few hundred dollars.  All the more reason to want to see before you buy.

Herein lies the rub!  The challenge many grandfather clock shoppers will face is that the grandfather clock showroom as it used to exist, and with the location frequency that used to make them prevalent throughout the country, is very sadly mostly an artifact of the past.  The economics of retail real estate and clocks manufacturing and retail sales, not to mention rising and falling consumer demand for clocks of different kinds, has led to almost an evaporation of the grandfather clocks showroom as it used to exist.  An example is Fortunoff, which years ago had grandfather clocks in their Manhattan Fifth Avenue location along with wall clocks and mantle clocks.  Years passed, and grandfather clocks were nowhere to be found at the Manhattan location, but could be found in the Woodbury Commons Shopping Mall a drive away.  The Fortunoff no longer carried even wall clocks and mantel clocks in the Manhattan Flagship location.  And then a few years later they filed for bankruptcy twice, the second time, at least for now, seemingly putting them out of business for good.

Now while clocks were a very small part of Fortunoff’s revenue and profit, their history does correlate with that of many clock dealers.  At our Grand Central Station Store, we always aimed to have 3-4 grandfather clocks on display.  And I believe we had the largest display in Manhattan, with 3-4 grandfather clocks.  That by itself says a lot!

So what is a serious thoughtful grandfather clocks shopper supposed to do?  It can be a vexing and difficult question.  We work with grandfather and grandmother clock shoppers to help make sure they understand what the best alternatives are, and address their questions and concerns as best we can.

While we believe we do a very good job in making that happen for our grandfather and wall and mantle clocks customers, there is absolutely no doubt that the times, they are a changing.

Especially during this time of year, with Black Friday having just passed, and Cyber Monday rapidly approaching, many customers have grandfather clocks discounts and bargains at the top of their mind.  They only want to shop when they see Grandfather Clocks Sale.

One grandfather clocks website the author of this blog post recently visited proudly proclaimed “… grandfather clocks can never be too cheap and will always give your home a classy, nostalgic and dependable look.”  While we agree with the bigger picture sentiment that a grandfather clock can certainly enhance the appearance of any home, there are many cheap grandfather clocks out there that if one purchases, one is essentially purchasing a pricey headache and not at all a good grandfather clock.

Let us revisit the dictionary definition of cheap, and look at whether it might mean inexpensive grandfather clocks, or cheap grandfather clocks:

–adjective

Definition 4, from Dictionary.com is particularly apropos of what needs to be kept in mind

We had a post recently about the finest grandfather clocks and grandfather clock brands and makers, and what to look out for when considering the purchase of a high quality grandfather clock.  While we will not say there is no place for inexpensive grandfather clocks, most all grandfather clock shoppers are going in with eyes wide closed.  They will pay hundreds of dollars for a grandfather clock that looks nice, but they likely have no idea what trade-offs they have just made by being an ignorant consumer.

The chimes will almost always be of an inferior quality to any of the grandfather clocks brands we sell, which include Howard Miller grandfather clocks, Hermle grandfather clocks, and Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, among others.  The cases will likely have plastic and particle board wood, when there is even wood.  Many require major assemble.  We also get all too many calls from individuals who have purchased grandfather clocks from leading retailers and mass merchandisers, only to find out that their new grandfather clock does not even have an instruction booklet, and there is no way to figure out or contact the manufacturer.  Many of  names of these bargain grandfather clocks have been quite cleverly names so they appear to be models made by the most respected manufacturers.  And these companies are clever enough to name a grandfather clock after, say, a high-end mechanical chiming wall clock so that they can claim they have not even caused customer confusion.  Having said that, we have seen some of our clock dealer competitors who carry these really cheap brands alongside the better brands, with similar model names, and this must create confusion for their own customers.

The bottom line for grandfather clocks shoppers is that while you may get a cheap grandfather clock, choose wisely or else you may get one that does not work from the get go, or one that is poorly made and will likely break down beyond repair, plastic parts and all, in a short period of time.

Save a few bucks today, and live with a grandfather clocks or grandmother clock or floor clock until it falls apart or breaks down.

We highly recommend asking questions of grandfather clocks experts, and make certain you know what you are getting, whatever that is.  Choosing a quartz grandfather clock, or a cable driven chiming mechanical grandfather clock, for example, is a choice that should be made by an informed grandfather clocks shopper.

Buying junk at a great price, when you are looking for more than junk, is akin to simply throwing your money away.