Did you know that for several years 1-800-4clocks has had a presence on eBay selling both new and antique grandfather clocks, pocket watches, wall clocks, atomic clocks, mantel clocks and other antiques, selling new Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks and Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks in particular at our ebay UserID GrandfatherClocks , which can be found on UserID, which alternates between grandfatherclocks and grandfather-clocks store on eBay or see or GrandfatherClocks UserID World on eBay.

Historically, we have been featuring Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, the Hermle Grandfather Clock collection and more.  We plan to be adding even more, including Howard Miller Wall Clocks and Mantel Clocks, and Ridgeway mantle clocks and wall clocks.  We expect to be adding Schneider Cuckoo Clocks very soon as well, including the 8 Day Movement mechanical cuckoo clocks, as well as the 3 day mechanical cuckoos, and the quartz driven cuckoo clocks also made by the German company Schneider.

If you look right now, as of the date of this post, you will not find much on eBay from us by way of Grandmother Clocks or Grandfather Clocks by Howard Miller or Ridgeway, but we plan for that to change within the next week.  We expect to be offering the full line of mechanical Howard Miller Clocks, mechanical Ridgeway Clocks, as well as some of the nicer wall clocks and mantle clocks by Howard Miller and Ridgeway Floor Clocks that are quartz-driven.

Regardless of whether we list our antique clocks or new clocks on eBay or on our 1-800-4clocks website, we find that many customers end up calling us, frequently because of our easy to use toll-free number as well as our long-term association and background with Catalog sales, which may seem in some ways like a throwback to the past, but many customers like to talk to a live clock specialist who can both understand their questions and give them accurate answers.  For that reason among others we do not believe in using call centers to staff our phone lines, nor have we historically put any of our grandfather clock or wall clock or mantel clock salespeople on commission, because we believe that selling the customer only the grandfather clock or other clock that they really want is good for them as well as us in the long-term in the form of repeat business from past clocks customers.

Many of our sales are from prior customers, and we work hard  both to obtain and maintain customer loyalty.

Any suggestions as to how we can make our grandfather clock or gallery clock or mantle clock or other timepiece business more user-friendly or more effective and efficient, not to mention reasonably enjoyable, please let us know.  We welcome customer feedback, and too frequently receive it only when there is a problem,  We recently wrote a post that we have never taken up an offer from a customer who has volunteered to put up a positive testimonial online if we tell them where, meaning what website, we want it to go.  WE should probably do both more formally.

Grandfather Clocks on eBay, from 1-800-4CLOCKS with eBay ID grandfatherclocks and eBay Store grandfather-clocks.

Made in America is making a comeback, and American manufacturing has certainly been a hot topic not only as General Motors has reborn into a competitive juggernaut, but also more broadly speaking as more and more lower wage jobs seem to be replacing more skilled higher paying manufacturing jobs.  Made in the USA has certainly been a focus of the presidential election debate, and no doubt will and should grow in importance in the coming decades.  Grandfather Clocks Made in USA, in addition to American-made wall clocks and mantel clocks, are likely to be an increasing percent of the high-end grandfather clocks marketplace.

Interestingly, the Company leading the way right now is Hermle grandfather clocks, which now offers a great selection of Made In America Grandfather Clocks, in addition to other offering.  Hermle Clocks is actually a German Company, which in a way makes the move to grandfather clocks production in the USA that much more intriguing and hopeful.  Having said them the only two remaining mechanical grandfather clock high-end movement makers are both German, and include Hermle Clocks and Kieninger Clocks movements.  So the case may be Made in the USA, but the high-end movement movements in the clock are still likely to b e German made, unless some big happens in the mechanical grandfather clocks movement market.

Our 1-800-4CLOCKS website also features some of Hermle clocks Made in USA, Virginia to be more exact, and we will be adding more Hermle Made in USA Grandfather Clocks in the coming couple of weeks.  Keep an eye out!

It should be noted that most all of the cases for mechanical grandfather clocks made by Howard Miller Clocks are Made in Michigan, USA, and this is true for Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks as well.  Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks and Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks both have German Kieninger mechanical movements, and Kieninger, although a German company, was acquired by Howard Miller Clocks about 10 years ago. Before this acquisition, Howard Miller used Hermle mechanical grandfather clock movements almost exclusively in their mechanical clocks.  For whatever its worth, our view is that the Kieninger grandfather clock movements in Howard Miller grandfather clocks and Ridgeway grandfather clocks are extremely similar in quality and functionality as the Hermle Grandfather Clock movements.

Hermle Grandfather Clocks Made in USA Line worth a special look!

Perhaps we are being overly modest.  At least once every week, we at 1-800-4CLOCKS have a grandfather clocks shopper who ends up purchasing a discount grandfather clock from us and who proactively offers to give us a written testimonial and/or to to provide feedback on any of the customer review websites that are out there.  We almost invariably say to these clock customers, whether they are purchasing antique grandfather clocks or one of the brand new Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, or any of the other makers, such as Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, that we appreciate the sentiment but that their thanks for our expertise, service, and great discount prices is enough thanks for us.

Given the increasing popularity of social networking websites including Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the micro review website like Angie’s Wishlist or MerchantCircle, we probably should be putting a lot more focus on this in our business.  It appears that search engines like Bing and Google and Yahoo do place some importance on a business’ reviews and social networking rankings, whatever algorithm it is they may be using. We have even been looking at Pinterest as well as Reddit.  We even have the Facebook User Name Grandfather Clocks or  http://www.facebook.com/grandfatherclocks will take you there.  We are hoping and planning to develop a real presence on Facebook that users will find both helpful and interesting in any number of ways.

If there are any other high-end luxury consumer and business-to-business brands and retailers that are out there that readers have found to be especially useful or well done or impressive or effective, or all of the above, we would very much love to hear about it!

Grandfather Clocks on Facebook.  Is Floor Clocks on Twitter next?

Grandfather Clocks owners sooner or later, with or without regularly scheduled grandfather clock maintenance including oiling and cleaning, will need to address the inevitable grandfather clock repair challenge or question.  We sell many brands of floor clocks, including Howard Miller grandfather clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks and Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks and the Kieninger Floor Clock collection.  Even these best of the best grandfather clock makers will find their customers in need of clock time adjustments, grandfather clock movement refurbishing of pivots and pallets, the occasional manual adjustment that may need to be made inside the grandfather clock case or movement or pendulum or pendulum bob or even to a damaged or worn finish or wood of the outside of a grandfather clock case.

In today’s more modern world, good grandfather clock repair help can be difficult to find.  Interestingly, after a rapid decline in the number of people able and qualified to repair timepieces including pocket watches, wristwatches and mechanical grandfather clocks, there seems to have been something of a renaissance in the number and quality of available repair people.  Some schools of horology, the study of timepieces, have revamped and added new classes and certifications, and the demand appears clearly present both for the apprentices in training as well as the eager customers on the other end.

Owners of mechanical mantel clocks and wall clocks and grandfather and grandmother clocks, whether made by Howard Miller Clocks or Hermle Clocks or Ridgeway or Kieninger or Americana Clocks will and should want only qualified clocks technicians to be working on their movements.  If a grandfather clock was made by a major established floor clock company, such as Howard Miller or Hermle or Ridgeway, there is an excellent chance that the preferred method for fixing the mechanical clock might be to simply exchange the old movement for an equivalent new one.  The repair can be less expensive.  One factor, though, that can catch people by surprise, is that grandfather clock makers have gradually effectively lowered the fixed volume level on grandmother clocks and grandfather clocks in recent years.  This has been done to meet changing consumer preferences and with more household items, especially electronics,vying potentially for attention at the very same times.  We get occasionally very puzzled calls from long-time clock owners and enthusiasts who do not understand why their new grandfather clock is softer in volume than their old one, lower in volume than the Howard Miller grandmother clock in the home of their Aunt Shirley.

Another piece of advice we give, and yes we do repair clocks ourselves so this might sound purely in our self-interest, but the reality is that repairs can take a long long time, frequently much longer than originally anticipated.  And yet we live in an I want it tomorrow culture, or a what could be so complicated approach on the part of customers.  It’s all about setting and managing and understanding reasonable expectations and drivers.  Frequently new parts may not arrive on time.  Sometimes they have to be hand made, which can be very expensive.  Most all repairs require multiple levels of quality control testing.  Sometimes the problem is difficult to isolate.  Sometimes a spare part may not be readily available and yet can be obtained with diligent follow-up on the part of the grandfather clock repair person, yet at the same time frustrating to the actual owner of the clock.  Reasonable expectations and communication are key.  I frequently tell customers do not ask us to fix it if you will be unhappy if it might take 2-3 months, because that may be necessary and realistic.  It’s a delicate balancing act!

Finding a grandfather clocks repair specialist reasonably local to you can be a challenge.  There are a variety of sources, including the Yellow Pages, the Better Business Bureau (of which we are proud members), membership organization like the National Association of Clock and Watch Collectors, the American Clock and Watch Institute (of which we are also proud members), and a good online database at Howard Miller Clocks website which is searchable by both zip code and state.  Keep in mind whether you are repairing a new or antique grandfather clock or wall clock or mantel clock, and what the specialty of any candidate grandfather clock repair person might be, as they may require different knowledge bases and skills.

Still looking for grandfather clock repair advice.  Always feel free to give us a call at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com.

Kieninger model NS Movement -

Precision Kieninger clock cable movement with 8 rubies and 6 bronze bushings, Graham steel pallet lever escapement, automatic beat adjustment, maintaining power & seconds indication.

While our vast selection of high-end heirloom quality grandfather clocks are comprised of many parts, we do not sell parts for individual grandfather clocks.  There are many grandfather clock repair and authorized service centers for floor clocks, but we will suggest other places if a customer is looking for parts for a grandfather clock or grandmother clock.

We will and do, however, service and repair grandfather clocks and wall clocks and mantel clocks, both new and antique clocks.  Each clock type and clock is an individual, and depending upon the clock’s circumstance, we would recommend a different course of treatment, which might or might not include us.  And yes we do on occasion make grandfather clock house calls just like the old fashioned family doctor.  Fir some mantel clocks and wall clocks repairs, depending upon the issue, the customer, the distance, the budget and other variables, we will sometimes make home visits as the grandfather clock doctor, or for the more junior wall clocks and mantel clock generation.

We even will help select customers, assuming the geography works out for us all, move a grandfather clock,  Failing that, we are generally happy to advise individuals on how to move a grandfather clock, both on the dos and the do nots or dont’s.

Back on grandfather clocks parts, if you call us at our toll free tore number 1-800-4CLOCKS (1-800-425-6257) the voice menu will actually give you prerecorded messages if you are looking for clock parts, including winding keys.  We get no benefit from referring customers to these grandfather clocks parts and other clock parts suppliers and retailers, and it is a more efficient way of us being able to help our customers in one of the few ways we choose not to do ourselves.

Let’s take some of the most frequently asked for clock parts, both for grandfather clocks, as well as key-wound mantle and wall clocks.  Hands down the winner is a winding crank key for a grandfather clock, usually for Howard Miller Clocks or Ridgeway Clocks, with a grandfather clock or grandmother clock door key being the next runner up.  As we deal in antique pocket watches, wristwatches, and antiques in general, we also get request for pocket watch winding keys, as well as mechanical wall clocks and mantel clock winding keys.

Most collectors of antique clocks, including high-end grandfather clocks and mantel clocks and wall clocks, and yes pocket watches too, do not realize that there are basically a dozen sizes of clock keys, one of which will fit almost all American or European grandfather clocks, grandmother clocks, wall clocks, and mantle or mantel clocks made.  The same is true, with a smaller size set of 12 keys, for antique American and European pocket watches, including famous makers like Elgin pocket watches and the Waltham and Hamilton Watch companies, not to mention the many incredible Swiss, French, and British makers, among others.

So the good news is if you need the most popular or sought after grandfather clocks part, it should be very easy to locate at a grandfather clock or Floor Clocks supplier near you, or one whom 1-800-4CLOCKS can and does recommend.

Grandfather Clocks Parts needed - call 1-800-4CLOCKS.com and listen

We had an interesting idea about marketing grandfather clocks at both Yankee Stadium in New York and Fenway Park in Boston.  We are fans of both baseball teams, and yes, that makes for some interesting internal battles, but all in good fun.  Anyway, we had the idea of selling floor clocks, such as Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, by handing on coupons and order forms at each of these 2 stadiums.  So instead of Get Your Beer Here, it would be Get Your Grandfather Clock Here or Get your Floor Clock Here.

We have even thought of customizing particular grandfather clock models for particular baseball teams, such as the Red Sox Grandfather Clock, and the Yankee Floor Clock or Grandfather Clock.  We imagine the licensing fees would be rather steep, assuming the team logos are still available for licensing floor clocks and grandfather clocks.

One question we have is whether fans recognize the term Floor Clock as having essentially the same meaning as Grandfather Clock.  We know that interior decorators and home decor experts are fluent with this vernacular, but that does not mean it is necessarily the same demographic that is attending Yankees and Red Sox baseball games.  Having hired people to work at sports stadiums before, one of the least desirable outcomes is to have baseball fans turn negative toward any vendor.  For that reason, we have also thought of perhaps having, like a Baseball Bat Day or a Baseball Hat Day. perhaps we could have a Yankees Grandfather Clock or Red Sox Grandfather Clock Baseball Day, where, say, one of every one hundred ticket holders would win an authentic Hermle Floor Clock or one of more popular models of Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks.  With the right kind of promotion, the economics should be reasonable, and we could make many grandfather clocks shoppers very happy and it would be the ultimate discount grandfather clock and discount floor clocks.

It way be that Howard Miller Wall Clocks or Hermle Wall Clocks, or even a mantle clock made by either of those companies, or Ridgeway or Bulova, or Kieninger Clocks would be a good alternative to offer at this type of event, but it is not likely to elicit the same type of enthusiasm as a Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks or Howard Miller Floor Clock or one of the Hermle Grandfather Clocks.

One home run idea would be if a clock were built with a “take me out to the ball game” chime and perhaps the home team songs, which would of course have to come in every clock and team and model combination, with the home team song chiming on the hour for a grandfather clock or floor clock.

Who are you rooting for?

Should we try to offer floor clocks and grandfather clocks with New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox Logos?

Would going to a game where you had a chance at winning a Boston Red Sox Grandfather Clock or New York Yankees Floor Clock make you more likely to attend a sporting event?  What about Wall Clocks and Mantel Clocks?

The landscape of the grandfather clock marketplace is forever changing. New high-end players and some of the existing high-end manufacturers like Americana Grandfather Clocks as a new player and Hermle Clocks new series of Made In America Hermle Grandfather Clocks are examples that the upper end of the grandfather clock marketplace can and will continue to thrive and offer high-end well constructed solid wood grandfather clocks with the best made grandfather clock mechanical movements available today.

One area that seems to have declined over the last decade, and been perhaps a toll of the Great Recession, is high-end grandfather clock kits and grandfather clock plans supporting those kits.  The company we looked o as the leader in this market, Kuempel Chime Clocks of Minnetonka, Minnesota, went out of business perhaps 5 years ago, and they not only sold great grandfather clock kits and grandfather clock plans, but also high-end wall clock kits and mantel clocks kits and plans.  Kuempel used only mechanical German movements made by Kieninger in all of their clock kits, including grandfather clock, wall clocks and mantel clocks.  We used to gladly steer prospective grandfather clock customers and shoppers, looking for a project to build a high quality grandfather clock, in their direction.

Another company, Mason and Sullivan, comes to mind that used to make, many years ago, we estimate 20 and before, great grandfather clock plans and wall clock plans and mantel clock plans.  Their clock plans typically were for reproductions of historic and special clocks by known makers, including the clockmakers John Goddard and Simon Willard and Aaron Willard, as examples.  While they also sold some kits with plans, usually with Hermle German mechanical clock movements, they also had many plans which were used by real craftsmen of their times.  Some of these can still be found today on eBay.

When grandfather clock shopping, looking for discounts on high-end grandfather clocks, and grandfather clocks on sale and shopping in general, an informed and educated customer is the best type of customer and the one who will get the best deal on grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks and be most satisfied with their grandfather clock purchase, not only for years, but for the generations that follow.

Understanding the best grandfather clock brands, which not only include the new Americana Clocks grandfather brand, but also those of Howard Miller Clocks. Ridgeway Clocks, Hermle Grandfather and Floor Clocks, including Hermle’s new Made in America line, Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks, and Kieninger Grandfather Clocks, just to name most of the preeminent brands available today.  But a smart clocks shopper also needs to understand the differences between mechanical grandfather clocks, e.g. chain driven vs cable driven granfather and grandmother clocks, as well as the many features both within and between product lines and brands.  Especially nowadays, one needs to beware of cheap imitation imports which may not last for long at all or may also require much assembly work on the grandfather clock.  We continue to get many calls from frustrated grandfather clock shoppers who purchased a floor clock, even from the major department stores or so-called big-box stores, only to find they have nowhere to turn when their grandfather clock no longer works, or never worked to begin with.  The grandfather clock shoppers realize too late they have been had, after thinking they had gotten a great grandfather clock bargain.

As the retailer Mr. Syms used to say, An Educated Consumer in Our Best Customer.

Grandfather Clock and Mantel Clocks made from grandfather clocks plans and mantel clock plans from Mason and Sullivan in a Press Photo from 1978

Perhaps this should not come as a surprise for grandfather clock enthusiasts, but we at 1-800-4clocks.com have found that a great way to get real and interesting news relating to pretty much all aspects of grandfather clocks, as well as some on wall clocks and mantle clocks, is to simply type into the Google or Yahoo or Bing search engines the phrase news grandfather clocks.

We have found some exciting are interesting timepiece and horological pieces just by looking at this clocks search term on a regular basis.  One also finds what might be considered some of the more fluffy grandfather clock pieces, such as videos by grandfather clock shops and retailers showing rows of clocks, or a YouTube video link to how to wind a grandfather clock or that kind of more very basic feature clock story.

In today’s news search, we saw that what would historically been considered a miniscule amount of mercury in a grandfather clock, just 2-3 ounces, spilled from the pendulum of an antique grandfather clock in the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, and it was treated as a HazMat incident by the local Fire Department and other authorities.  When the author of this post was a child, that amount of mercury was considered non-hazardous and was an amazingly fun element to play with (note we are not suggesting you try this at home or anywhere, as scientific knowledge has changed over time).

Some of the best antique grandfather clocks, as well as antique mantel clocks and even antique regulators and wall clocks have mercury pendulums, usually with glass vials containing the mercury, and sometimes also sealed in metal inside the pendulum.  The amazing property of mercury is that it expands and contracts depending upon changes in temperature, and in such a way that it allows for the most accurate timekeeping of pretty much all mechanical grandfather clocks and mantel and wall regulator clocks, with the possible exception of fusee bracket clocks and fusee driven grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks and the occasional fusee wall clocks one is lucky enough to come across.  Yet both antique clocks with mercury pendulums, and antique fusee movement driven clocks are among the most expensive and most collectible of the clocks out there, partly because of their fine movements and relative scarcity in addition to their amazing mechanical timekeeping abilities.

So if you are really into either clock news in general, or grandfather clock or floor clock news in particular, a search engine query along the lines described above is a great way to stay current.

Any clocks news stores you come across that seem particularly noteworthy, please let us know either in the comments section or by emailing us, and there is a good chance we will feature them if we feel our regular readers will be interested.

News Grandfather Clocks search on Google

We could not decide whether to put this post in our Grandfather Clock Blog, or in our Clocks Blog focusing more on Wall Clocks, Mantel Clocks, And Atomic Clocks of all types.   Both of these clocks blogs also focus on wristwatches and pocket watches, including digital timepieces.  So in the end we opted to show off some exciting new technology in the Grandfather Clocks Blog.

This new wrist communication and timepiece device is designed by a company called MetaWatch, and they are referring to this timepiece just below as a smart-watch.  It is supposed to eventually, if not initially, allow access to email, to give current weather and forecasts, to send and receive text messages, and to interact with various other computing features and smarthome control devices, including changing the channels on a television, if we remember correctly.

We would be very interested in hearing about consumer and business reaction to this type of device, as well as whether it could or might somehow be incorporated into a grandfather clock or perhaps a mantle clock.  One unusual use of clocks, which to date we have not sold, is to include cameras in clocks, which can be used either for virtual surveillance or recorded and replayed surveillance.  Some electronics resellers have purchased clocks from us for this use.

We are especially interested in any ideas which might somehow for with a home-based grandmother clock or grandfather clocks.  While to date most all of the digital clocks offered that we sell are Howard Miller Wall Clocks or Hermle Gallery Clocks or Ridgeway Wall Clocks, we have not given up on the concept of digital grandfather clocks and even digital street clocks.   We will soon be offering large LED table clocks and wall clocks, with large numbers and letters in different models, with some showing the day and date.  Some will also feature blue LED time lights in addition to wall clocks feather the more traditional red LED lights.  Atomic LED clocks are not far behind.

Who does not love a good time or clock related riddle.  Well, we came across on at Dictionary.com the other day, and as a leader in the grandfather clock, wall clock and mantel clock industry, we feel it is especially worth sharing.

This one is also much better than the old one about throwing a clock to see time fly.

This clever question goes as follows – what is once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in 1,000 years?  Hint – the answer is shorter than one word.

OK, have you put your thinking cap on and figured this clock and time riddle out for yourself, or do you need to keep reading?  The answer is, simply, m.

Hope this is clear to all you clock enthusiasts out there.  Now when you are sitting in your living room furnished with a Howard Miller grandfather clock, a Hermle wall clock, and a musical Rhythm Clock whether Small World or other, you will have an additional tidbit to entertain your family and friends.

Any more time riddles?  Let us know and we will be happy to share them here.  Feel free to post simply as comments, or write to us with our userid grandfatherclocks on eBay.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Summer.

Special thanks to www.Dictionary.com