Grandfather clocks

Moonphase Grandfather Clocks

03.13.10

The writer of this blog post has always been a sucker for a clock with a moonphase dial, sometimes also referred to as moondials, whether moonphase grandfather clocks, moonphase mantel clock or bracket clock, or moonphase wall clock.  And watches too!

With antique clocks, dials with a moonphase were especially prized, and were found most often, when they were found, on grandfather clocks or floor clocks.  The lunar cycle is 29 1/2 days, which is one full revolution of the moondial on the moonphase clock.  When there is a full moon outside, the clock is supposed to show a full moon at the top center of the moonphase dial.  It will take another 29 1/2 days to be in the exact same position again.  In the olden days, these days were actually used by farmers to help to know when to plant crops.  They were also of use for people traversing the oceans, although a movement that would work on a clock with enough reliability was invented later and also had multiple uses for navigation and charting voyages.

In more recent years, moondials are seen on many types of clocks.  They are also on wristwatches too, as well as some antique pocket watches. Many clocks, particular in the relatively lower price ranges, and generally with all chain-driven mechanical grandfather clocks, the moonphase dials are faux dials (the nice, and French, word for fake), and are stationary and do not move.  hey are for decorative purposes only.  Most higher-end cable driven grandfather clocks, particular by makers such as Howard Miller Clocks, Hermle Clocks, and Ridgeway Clocks, have working moonphase moondials on their grandfather clocks.

A working moonphase dial on a new or antique grandfather clock is a great feature, if one can afford a clock in that generally somewhat higher grandfather clocks price range.  Keep an eye out for grandfather clock discounts and individual grandfather clocks for sale that have this feature.  You very likely will not be disappointed, whether a grandfather clocks enthusiast or not.

Howard Miller Stewart Grandfather Clock Model 610-948

Howard Miller Stewart Grandfather Clock Model 610-948 with working moonphase dial

Housewarming Gifts and Home Warming Presents

03.07.10

Increasingly we are seeing a trend towards people, usually very close relatives, buying really high quality grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks as housewarming gifts or homewarming gifts either for their loved ones, such as children getting married, a special anniversary, parents relocating, or simply as gifts to themselves when moving to anew home or a second home.

The gift of a grandfather clock can be highly personalized and a wonderfully creative gift idea.  Grandfather clocks have become almost traditional gifts both for couples themselves as well as present for loved ones on special wedding anniversaries or milestone birthdays when looking for the perfect birthday present or perfect wedding anniversary present.

We see the gifting of grandfather clocks becoming a new housewarming tradition, and many of our customers are also calling it a homewarming gift – a term to which we have taken a liking.

Personalized plaques commemorating special dates and occasions are just one way to make a grandfather clock or a grandmother clock be meaningful housewarming gifts to people.  Frequently, picking out a traditional grandfather clock design or contemporary grandfather clock that may be reminiscent of a clock that one of the gift recipients grew up with can be an important element in choosing a specific clock.  Many people will choice either a chain driven mechanical clock or a cable driven mechanical clock because it was the type they grew up with and made them feel most comfortable.

We find that the most popular makers of grandfather clocks for housewarming gifts are Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks, and the Ridgeway Grandfather Clock collection.  Howard Miller clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, and Hermle clocks, in addition to Bulova Clocks and others we sell are also very popular as less expensive but still very much appreciated housewarming gifts.  Grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks, atomic clocks, grandmother clocks, and mantle clocks all make wonderful housewarming gifts, homewarming gifts, and special wedding anniversary presents and special birthday presents.

Clocks make great gifts for almost all occasions!

Pendulum Grandfather Clocks

03.05.10

When purchasing or shopping for grandfather clocks, how important is it for you to have a visible pendulum that is visibly swinging back and forth inside the tower or waist of the clock.

Is this a “must-have” feature to you when thinking about purchasing a grandfather clock.

Remember that many grandfather clocks have solid wood doors where the pendulum and weights are not visible, even when they are present.  Some consumers obviously prefer the solid wood door covering the entire waist or tower of the grandfather clock.  In addition, some grandfather clocks are sprint driven instead of weight driven, and they will not have the visible weights working in the case even when the pendulum is there.  If the grandfather clock also has a platform escapement, there will be no working pendulum visible at all.

Nowadays, there are other options and therefore more considerations when shopping for a grandfather clock.  One is the advent of the decorative grandfather clock, generally quartz or battery driven, where when when opens the door to the grandfather clock, one may find storage shelves or even a bookshelf.   Another reasonably new technology is Quartz or battery operated grandfather clocks where the pendulum is moving back and forth, yet generally powered by magnets rather than the mechanical grandfather clock movement.  In these clocks, the visible weights, while reproducing the general look of a mechanical grandfather clock, will be stationary, and will therefore not move either up or down but will always stay in the same position.  The grandfather clocks weights therefore are decorative only in these cases.

So if you are looking for an “old-fashioned” mechanical weight driven grandfather clock, it comes down to a simpler question.  Do you want a grandfather clock with a glass door, or not?

Let us know your clocks preferences.

Grandfather Clocks Howard Miller

02.28.10

Which is the best maker of grandfather clocks?  This is a question we are asked almost daily.  It is a difficult question to answer, both because there is so much cross-ownership in the world of grandfatherclocks, and because there are so many criteria to take into account when comparing both within single grandfather clock brands as well as between the various grandfather clocks brands.

One “fact” seems simple, and least in the opinion of the writer of this blog post.  Based on overall perception and awareness by consumers and organizational buyers of grandfather clocks, Howard Miller grandfather clocks have the most overall awareness, and are perceived by most — the large majority, is our sense — as being the highest end grandfather clocks maker.

We should point out that the mechanical grandfather clocks we sell all currently have high-end German movements, made either by Hermle (whose grandfather clocks movements were used by Howard Miller Clocks exclusively before they purchased Kieninger about seven years ago) or Kieninger (which also makes its own branded Kieninger Grandfather Clocks).  To complicate matters of comparison further, Ridgeway Clocks (which is owned by Howard Miller Clocks) also currently use Kieninger Clocks movements in their Ridgeway Grandfather Clocks.  And just when you thought you had a grasp on the high-end grandfather clocks market, one should be aware that Bulova Grandfather Clocks have been using high-end Hermle Clocks movements, and not surprisingly, Hermle Grandfather Clocks use Hermle grandfather clock movements.  Also, Bulova Clocks, in recent years, has been making grandfather clocks using the Sligh grandfather clocks designs with Hermle grandfather clocks movements, as Sligh Furniture used to do before they exited the grandfather clocks marketplace.

All of these grandfather clocks makers use solid wood cases, at least for their wooden vs.wrought iron or stone waterfall grandfather clocks.

If you know think you understand the high-end grandfather clocks market, just wait 2-3 months.  It will no doubt continue to be a somewhat wild grandfather clocks ride.

Grandfather Clocks Favorites

02.23.10

Many people growing up over the last couple of hundreds years, particularly in Western Civilization, have grown up with a grandfather clock as almost a member of the family.  If nothing else, the look and sounds that these wondrous timepieces called grandfather clocks remind many of their childhood at home, or perhaps visiting their grandparents or the homes of other friends and loved ones.  Way back when, as is still the case in much of Western Europe, these clocks are and were  more commonly referred to as longcase clocks, or long case clocks, and tallcase clocks, or tall case clocks.

Customers of our who are discount grandfather clocks shoppers will frequently begin their discussions with us by mentioning a grandfather clock that in one form or another grew up with, and they are hoping to recreate that memory, including look, sound, and overall grandfather clock feeling, as much as possible.  Interestingly, people who grew up with chain-driven clocks tend to be drawn to them, at least initially, because of the unusual yet memorable way these grandfather clocks are wound, by pulling down on each of the three chains to bring up each of the three weights.

Chain driven grandfather clocks frequently have a nostalgic appeal, and they also are the least expensive of the different types of grandfather clocks movements.  Partly because the movements are smaller, the grandfather clock manufacturers tend to make these among their smallest models, from a height, width, and depth dimension.

While cable driven grandfather clocks are more expensive, the movement will generally last, based on our opinion and experience, about twice as long as a chain-driven movement.  With proper care, a cable driven movement, we believe, will generally last 25-50 years.  This makes sense when you think about it in that these clocks have much more wear and tear on the clocks mechanisms or clock movements because the chain is sliding through the movement each time the clock is wound.  Cable-driven grandfather clocks can truly be heirloom quality treasures.

A cable driven grandfather clock will not only be larger and generally last much longer with proper care, these clocks also come with more extras or options, including automatic night shut-off, working moon phase dials, triple chimes, lit interiors, and some even have lit dials.  These clocks tend to also have much more heft and weight to them, in cases which can be carved quite intricately.

While the old adage “you get what you pay for” largely applies in this instance, one needs to be an informed grandfather clocks shopper to be an intelligent grandfather clock shopper.

All the mechanical grandfather clocks we sell currently have 8 day movements.

Best Grandfather Clocks Plate Engraved Inscriptions

12.21.09

When purchasing one grandfather clock of the several high-end grandfather clocks makers for sale, most offer a free engraved plate for you to write whatever you think might be meaningful enough to affix to the inside of your grandfather clock.  Many corporations also give grandfather clocks as corporate gifts, for specific length of service awards, retirement gits, or grandfather clocks as achievement awards.  Many of those clocks are given with the plate and the inscription on the outside of the clock.

We find most people purchasing grandfather clocks as individuals almost always choose to put the engraved plate somewhere more discreetly on the inside of the grandfather clock.  The purpose of this post is to share a small sample of some of the nicer or more interesting things people chose to say on their engraved plate for their grandfather clock.

We welcome people to add as comments either engravings they have seen elsewhere or used themselves, and that others might find of interest.

Here’s one of my personal favorites:

The SMITHs      (all names changed for privacy purposes)
May We Always Be Together – A Family
Till The End of Time

Here is another (simple but meaningful, wedding gift to selves):

John and Jane Doe

Married February 13, 1981

Here is another:  (for Corporate Retirement Recognition Award – straight and simple)

William B. Long
Pfizer, Inc.
1974-2008

Here is another: (simply their wedding date)

The Simpsons
James & Carolyn
AUGUST 20, 2009

Here is another:  (first names and personally important date)

Rebecca and Royce
December 20, 2007

Here is another: (with date of gift of grandfather clock)

Elizabeth French
To David R. Barker
March 25, 2009

Here is another: (Board of Directors – Appreciation of Service Award)

ABC Board of Directors
Derrick M. Kennedy
November 10, 1995  -  December 17, 2008

Here is another:  (simple and meaningful)

Jacqueline and William Ramsey
2008

Here is another: (speaks for itself)

to a true professional from your friends at homicide unit

Here is another: (Service Award and Retirement Gift)

CHARLES L. MADISON  JANUARY 22, 2009
30 YEARS GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Here is another: (very simple and yet personal, gift of love)

Mathias 2007

Here is another:  (Board of Directors Recognition Service Award)

ANTHONY B. MENDELSON
DIRECTOR – MINNESOTA BANK
1965 – 2005

Here is another:  (Wedding Present or Wedding Gift to selves)

Judy and John
Beginning Our Life Together

Here is another:  (Wedding Anniversary Present)

To The Next 40 Years

Here is another:  (Wedding Gift from Parents of Bride and Groom)

Linda and Benjamin
Wishing You Eternal Happiness

Here is another:  (Special Wedding Anniversary Gift)

June, Time Did Not Begin Until I Met You.
All my Love, Lawrence

We would love to develop a compendium or reference tool of the best and most interesting engraved plates and their accompanying words of wisdom and/or wit.

Please share with us any grandfather clock inscriptions you feel might merit inclusion.  We also plan to more thoroughly cull through our records to find many more words commemorating weddings, anniversaries, special birthday gifts, retirement awards, and many others.  We will share what we find.

Grandfather Clocks Parts Movements Keys Service

12.07.09

We would suggest the following 3 resources:

  1. 1. Look on this page on our website to see if you can find an answer to your question(s): just click on -> http://www.1-800-4clocks.com/page/CLOCKS/ClockFAQ
  2. 2. You can locate a Howard Miller Authorized Service Center local to you here -> http://cql.howardmiller.com/HM/ServiceCenterLocator.aspx. NOTE that all mechanical Howard Miller clocks had Hermle movements in them until about 5 years ago, and that most any if not all of these Service Centers should be able to work on any Hermle Clock.  This Service Center Network is a great resource, and we have had an excellent experiences working with Service Centers around the Country (and also Canada) using this Service Center Network.  Probably at least half of these Service Centers can work on antique clocks too, as well as other Brands of Clocks!!!!
  3. 3. You can order Hermle (and other) Parts (e.g. movements, weights, pendulum, keys, etc.) from the following 2 suppliers -> www.BlackForestImports.com and www.Merritts.com.  While we have no relationship to them whatsoever, we personally have had good results working with them ourselves.  Their contact information is available on each of the noted  websites.  We would most definitely recommend calling them rather than attempting to order from their websites (which would likely be a fruitless effort).

Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks Warranty Information

11.30.09

Howard Miller’s Grandfather Clocks LIMITED WARRANTY

This product has been manufactured using only the very finest of materials and has been thoroughly tested prior to leaving our manufacturing facility.

Howard Miller warrants to the original consumer/purchaser or recipient that this product will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of two years from date of purchase.  Howard Miller’s obligation under this warranty shall be limited to repairing the product with new or renewed components or, at its option, replacing it with a new or renewed product.  This warranty does not include damage to product or components resulting from abuse, accident, alteration, climatic/environmental conditions, damage beyond normal use, freight damage, mishandling, misuse, or unauthorized repair.

HOWARD MILLER DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY. IMPLIED WARRANTIES ON THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE IN EFFECT ONLY FOR THE DURATION OF THE EXPRESS WARRANTY SET FORTH ABOVE AND THEREAFTER, THERE SHALL BE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE), ON THIS PRODUCT.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages or the limitation on how long an implied warranty lasts so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

SERVICE INFORMATION

Before pursuing service, ensure that all instructions provided with your Howard Miller product have been carefully followed. These instructions will provide detailed information to answer most questions. Contact the Howard Miller web site (www.howardmiller.com) for a list of frequently asked questions that may conveniently resolve your problem or answer your questions.

In the unlikely event that your clock appears to be malfunctioning or requires repair, in NORTH AMERICA please call one of our Repair Technicians at (616) 772-7277 (extension #386). OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA please call your distributor or agent. If they determine that the problem cannot be easily resolved, they will help locate a Service Center in your area.

Before calling, please have the following information available. The model number and serial number can be found on the Product Information Label (see General Information.) Model Number: ______________ Serial Number: ______________ Date Purchased: ______________ Where Purchased: ______________ Brief Description of Problem:____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Please also have these instructions and the sales receipt or other comparable proof of original purchase available at the time of your call.

Most problems can be quickly resolved without returning the clock for service.

PROCEDURES TO OBTAIN REPAIR SERVICE

1. Contact the Dealer from whom you originally purchased the Howard Miller product or a Howard Miller Service Center.  Service charges will not be paid by Howard Miller for any repairs not performed by a Howard Miller Service Center.

2. You will be required to provide a copy of the sales receipt or other comparable proof of original purchase to obtain warranty service.

3. Provide the Dealer/Service Center with the Howard Miller model number and serial number and a complete description of the problem.

The Dealer/Service Center will make arrangements with you to service the product and/or to order any required parts from Howard Miller.

4. Howard Miller Dealers and Service Centers do not need prior authorization for service and repairs. The Dealer/Service Center will provide the necessary service and charge the party responsible within the guidelines of the limited warranty.

5. Return Authorization is required for all returns to Howard Miller. If you have been given authorization to return the product to Howard Miller, you will be provided with a Return Authorization number (RGA#).

Please include this Return Authorization number, above your name, on the address label. Also include a copy (original receipts should never be submitted as they can not be returned) of the sales receipt or other comparable proof of original purchase. Returns without prior authorization or proof of purchase may be subject to additional charges and delays. If a return is necessary, please package clock in the ORIGINAL packaging. Failure to properly pack the clock may cause damage that is not covered under warranty.

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NON-WARRANTY REPAIR SERVICE

Charges will result for repair services if a sales receipt or other comparable proof of original purchase is not provided, if instructions were not followed, if the product is beyond the Limited Warranty period or is otherwise outside the scope of the Limited Warranty.

MINOR ADJUSTMENTS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY The following minor adjustments are not covered under this warranty. Repair service and/or parts to correct these adjustments are at the consumer’s expense.

1. “Set-Up”.   Set-Up instructions have been provided with your Howard Miller product.  (As a Customer of 1-800-4CLOCKS, you may well be eligible for our FREE IN-HOME Set-up).

2. Mechanical Movement Oiling and Cleaning. The movement in your clock is a mechanical mechanism and, therefore, requires periodic oiling and cleaning depending on climatic and environmental conditions.

Under normal conditions a movement requires oiling with high quality clock oil approximately every two years from the date of purchase.

Please contact a qualified clock repair person or Howard Miller Service Center for this service.

3. Replacement of Suspension Spring. Replacement instructions have been provided with your Howard Miller product. Please return broken suspension spring to Howard Miller for proper identification. Replacement suspension springs are available from Howard Miller.

4. Pendulum, Timing, and Chime/Strike Hammer Adjustments. Instructions for these adjustments have been provided in this publication.

FREIGHT DAMAGE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY It is the responsibility of the consignee to claim any freight loss or damage directly with the carrier. If the carton indicates signs of “visible damage”, instruct the driver to note the damage on the freight bill. If the carton contains “concealed damage”, notify the carrier and request in writing within 14 days of product receipt a carrier inspection and damage report. Failure to notify the carrier within 14 days of product receipt may waive your rights to a damage claim.

WE HOPE THIS IS AS CLEAR TO YOU AS IT IS TO US AT 1-800-4CLOCKS ;) .  Have questions?  Feel free to call us any time at 1-800-4CLOCKS (1-800-425-6257).

Howard Miller

11.26.09

Howard Miller History or Howard Miller Clocks History.

Did you know that Howard Miller was the son of a man named Herman Miller, whose super high quality furniture Company bore his name and still does this day.  Howard Miller decided he wanted to make his own mark on the world, and succeeded, especially in regard to grandfather clocks.  This subject comes up often with visitors to our Clocks Stores!

Herman Miller’s and Howard Miller’s Factories are just across the street from each other in Zeeland, Michigan.  Many of our customer are VERY surprised when this point comes up.  Herman Miller actually produced clocks in small quantities before the Howard Miller brand was born.  We have one great banjo clock from this period.  We believe these clocks to be highly collectible!

Incomparable workmanship. Unsurpassed quality. A quest for perfection. It’s what Howard C. Miller insisted on when he founded the company back in 1926, at the age of 21.

Even then, Howard Miller understood the need to create products that would be steeped in quality and value. He expected nothing less than the best. And it was only under those strict conditions that he allowed his name to grace every clock manufactured at our sprawling facility in Zeeland, Michigan.

Howard Miller was schooled in the fine art of clockmaking by his father, Herman, in the Black Forest region of Germany. Howard developed into a visionary whose keen sense of innovation spawned a tradition of excellence that has been uncompromised through three generations.

While the early years focused on the manufacture of chiming wall and mantel clocks, Howard Miller also produced trend-setting avant garde clocks that stand today in collectors’ galleries. During World War II, Howard Miller joined forces with the Ford Motor Co. to produce anti-aircraft covers. In the 1960s, the company turned its attention to grandfather clocks, eventually earning the company the title of “World’s Largest Grandfather Clock Manufacturer.”

In 1989, Howard Miller began creating collectors cabinets with the same attention to detail and craftsmanship inherent in their clockmaking.

Fashioned from glass and hardwoods, the cabinets are ideal for displaying heirlooms, plates, glassware and other collectibles.

As part of the company’s continuing effort to bring customers only the best in handcrafted products, Howard Miller recently acquired three companies:

The Hekman Furniture Company produces a strong cadre of carefully sculpted hardwood pieces that range from 18th and 19th Century reproductions, to contemporary products featuring fine metals and exotic woods. The Woodmark Company makes fine upholstered pieces. And the exquisite movement in many clocks we offer is made by Old World craftsmen employed by the Kieninger Company of Germany.

While Howard Miller products might once have been primarily considered as gifts for weddings, anniversaries and retirements, the company’s expanded line of offerings is enticing more and more buyers who simply desire quality timepieces and furniture in their homes and businesses — no occasion required.

Howard Miller offers hundreds of items to complement any decor ranging from portable alarm clocks to desk sets to wall and mantel clocks to collectors cabinets to limited edition grandfather clocks. And in price ranges that may surprise you – from $5 to $15,000.

No matter the price of the purchase, you have the same assurance that Howard C. Miller provided when he began offering clocks more than 70 years ago:

That quality be reflected both in the products we create, and in the people whose artistic talents we rely on to manufacture them.

The legacy left by Howard C. Miller isn’t an easy one to emulate. But it’s the only way we know of doing business. Incomparable workmanship.

Unsurpassed quality. A quest for perfection.  1-800-4CLOCKS.com is proud to partner with Howard Miller Clocks in bringing the finest howard miller grandfather clocks, howard miller wall clocks, howard miller mantel clocks, atomic clocks and so much more to the public at large.

We are proud to be a Howard Miller Authorized Dealer!

Antique Grandfather Clocks

11.21.09

Antique Grandfather Clocks offer a piece of history.  Not only the history of time and timekeeping, but also a physical connection to the past.  Heirloom quality grandfather clocks can be passed from generation to generation, and grandfather clock owners can take great pride and comfort  in knowing that their grandfather clock is like a living connection spanning, potentially, centuries.

If you are not the lucky beneficiary of a high quality antique grandfather clock, and you are shopping for GrandfatherClocks, one might want to consider whether it is worthwhile to purchase an antique grandfather clock or whether to buy a new one from one of the high-end clock makers like Howard Miller Clocks, Hermle Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, or Bulova Clocks.  Each approach has its pros and cons, and in many cases individual timepiece and clock collectors may have their wants and needs based on exogenous factors.

Antique GrandfatherClocks clocks have the advantage, assuming the clocks are all original, of being highly collectible, and potentially having a rich history themselves.  For example, one grandfather clock near me right now was special ordered from Tiffany & Company by the Founder of Coca Cola as a gift to his daughter.  The daughter lived in a well known hotel in her later years, and allowed the clock to be in the Lobby of a well known Atlanta hotel for many years.  Upon her death, she bequeathed the clock to a Church, which had it in its rectory for many many years.  In recent years, the Church decided for whatever reason that it wanted to sell this grandfather clock, and the lucky buyer of this historic grandfather clock happened to be in the right place at the right time.  Now could any new grandfather clock have a story behind it like that?

So why would any grandfather clocks buyer think about buying a new grandfather clock instead of an antique grandfather clock.  The reasons are many and varied, especially in this season where individuals are looking avidly for grandfather clocks discounts and for a grandfather clocks sale.  To purchase an antique grandfather clock, a buyer really needs to know what he or she is doing, or there is a high likelihood one may either overspend in general on a clock, or more likely, not get what they really think they are getting.  Reproductions of grandfather clocks or outright counterfeits are not that unusual.  Clocks that are not all original, but rather parts of different clocks put together as one, known as marriages, can make a grandfather clock relatively worthless, or at least devalued to a small fraction of its monetary worth otherwise, from a collectibility standpoint.

Also, in terms of the features of a clock, not to mention the condition of the clock case and movement, can mean an antique will be significantly more expensive for a grandfather clock purchase for a comparable looking and sounding clock.  Antique grandfather clocks will not have automatic nighttime shutoff, something introduced relatively recently as one of the grandfather clock features.  It is unlikely one will find a triple-chime grandfather clock, unless one is willing to pay 2-3-5+ times the price for a comparable looking clock.  A working moondial, or even having a moonphase that rotates, is a feature on most new grandfather clocks. Having that on an antique grandfather clock will add significantly to the cost.

Want a contemporary grandfather clock?  Well, then your choices are pretty much limited to the newer ones.

Probably the biggest distinction and point to be mindful of when shopping for a grandfather clock is that an antique clock has the potential to be both a money pit and an ongoing headache, with much higher repair and service bills.  This does not even include the fact that there may also be restoration costs and that fact that it is much harder to find someone (one of the reasons it is so much more costly) who can work on antique grandfather clocks.  The potential for wood restoration, where a furniture or cabinetry expert, or possibly someone who works with inlay, may also be an added cost and consume a lot of time.

Any antique clock should be bought recognizing that there is a reasonable chance that it may end up being what we call a project clock, which requires a series of efforts over time with different experts.

Advantages to antique grandfather clocks are they they are general louder, assuming one finds this to be a benefit, and if one gets a good deal on an antique grandfather clock that is the genuine article, it is likely to hold its value better, and also more likely, in our opinion, to increase in value  over time.

Interestingly, when factoring in the above issues, which we don’t think many grandfather clocks shoppers do anyway, the vary large majority of grandfather clock and grandmother clock shoppers tend to go for new clocks, both said that they know they will be working “out of the container” and they no there will be no surprises.  The rich features of the new clocks help too.  And there are more easy choices to go with ones home decor or while doing interior decorating or interior design.

Regardless, there is one common denominator among grandfather clocks shoppers.  A grandfather clocks discount and a grandfather clocks sale is always welcome and sought after by shoppers of all kinds of clocks.  Go figure.

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