So you want to by a good grandfather clock but you dont really know what you are doing…

People keep on asking me to get Grandfather clocks for them. This makes perfect sense with my Antiques centre and Auction connections but if I did it for everyone Id do nothing else and I love my hands on work with repairs and restorations.

I dont sell clocks on the whole. The reason Im writing this is because its in the spirit of self help this blog promotes and I get asked a lot. Specifically I get asked “what sort of clock is the best and can you help me get a good one – I dont really know a lot about them but I would really like one”.

A surprisingly long question for all those people to ask. It really is though.

Here is the definitive time proof answer I believe.

Answer: Buy an early 18th Century Brass Face Clock!

I would get one like the one in the picture above. Its a classic brass face from 1730 and looks good in just about any case. Its currently in its original case but you wouldnt know the original from another similar one – Ill cover that side of thing later. Firstly lest talk about how to buy the clever way and the way trade do generally when sourcing clocks at auction for stock.

Whats the best place to buy a good grandfather clock?

Don’t bother with bigger auction houses over more than about 3 offices. They are too big with too many educated auctioneers who actually know something. You will get a better deal where people KNOW LESS about what they are selling. This may sound a bit cut-throat but thats what this article is about – Im on your side and you have to be a pirate to get a galleon. So HA HAAAARRRR MATEY and a bottle of Evian (I dont drink).

Most smaller auction houses are totally useless at identifying a good clock and frankly just guess – you will see clocks identified as “18th Century Brass Faced by blah blah Nottingham” as opposed to any discreet mention of a specific decade or comment on style or case construction. The less details in the description the better chance you have of getting a clock cheaper than the market would normally pay (at a larger auction house).

Consider this. Small auctions are tricky things to run and the rule tends to be caution in describing items authenticity due to the crippling administration costs of returns and refunds. This is good news for you if you go armed with the right info and check list which I will try and provide you with in this article.

So, the more basic the catalog description, the more likely it is the auction house doesn’t care and hopes the market does their homework for them. If you want to go a upmarket and rely on the auctioneers knowledge more for reasons of….getting a working clock!, then Sworders in Bishops Stortford and Hertford (Essex, United Kingdom) seem to get the right sort of clocks in and I use them for valuation and sale for stuff on Behalf of the Antiques centre in Braintree where I am based some of the week. Ive seen some half decent brass faces go there for under £2000 but as you will find out in this article – its about buying the right one.

Its a good idea to go to Sworders website and have a look online www.sworder.co.uk . If you like a clock there I can go and check it over for you as its half an hour from me. I would urge you to find you own good local auction house and go there however as its really important to see the clock. Some of them can be far more dominating “in person” and you need to meet your clock before inviting it into your house. It really will become part of your home and like a lodger, you will want to vet them first!. Chimes can be loud or quiet or muffled for fast or piercing or bell based or bar based or or or etc.. These thing will effect how much you enjoy owning your clock. Bear in mind most dont come with a night shut-off switch so your going to be living with the chime 24/7.

What is the market for grandfather clocks like and how much should I pay?

The clock in the picture at the start of this article is a really nice clock. It sits in the perfect house. I know the couple as good customers. Theres an immaculate vintage Rolls Royce Silver Something in the garage, Koi carp pond under a glass floor in the living room with small whales in it. Its full of interesting curio engineering objects to boot (heaven for me) . Every bit of the large house is a really nice and interesting place to be. Nice people too. 

So my point is these nice people have a nice clock. BUT Its not the most expensive clock, its just the best type without going mad on the money side of things and its more than “enough”. Good taste.

The thing is you can get a similar nice clock for much less than you may think. 

Theres only so many clocks left and reproduction hasn’t hit the industry sector yet; you don’t see fake clocks although be aware you are unlikely to be getting an original combination of clock head and case. Almost all are what are referred to as marriages which I find a particularly inappropriate term. Ex wives. These clocks and heads actually go together very well on more than two out of three times which makes “marriage” an inaccurate term in my view.

Grandfather clocks are in and out of fashion but always comes back. They have done for 300 years so the trend is unlikely to end. What you are seeing now is a dip in values due to a trend towards moderinism and minimalism in domestic interior design – we see this reflected in what sells at the Antiques centre generally.

Smaller houses are also playing a part in the temporary decline in popularity of these clocks. The wise will note that they are not knocking down the larger houses to build the smaller ones so there is still a home waiting for these clocks and they will return with greater prestige than they ever have. Also the Japs love anything english at the moment and Im sure there are already people out there shipping them over in containers and making a fortune.

It is only fashion and iphones keeping them out in the cold and on the auction circuit in the UK. So, at the moment, the clocks dont store well and are generally sold on inheritance by people who ought to be rounded up and sho…. sorry I almost did a Clarkson there.

The one thing you need to understand about this market adjustment is that Grandfather clocks are ICONIC so it doesn’t matter that current fashions do not allow space for them in the house. After all if your under 40 and don’t have 100 square meters of uninterrupted beige carpet in the living room the world will actually end. Its fact. Theres no room for a grandfather clock with Beige-aggendon upon us apparently.

The point is everyone knows what a grandfather clock is, and always will and thats that. There will always be a market.

If you like them then buy one now even if you store it for your next property move.

This clock face pictured in this article is at the higher end of things. Now I say “at the higher end of things” in the context of the mid market which is the area I get asked most about. It is also the long case clock / grandfather clock type people most frequently ask us to restore which is worthy of note because it sort of suggests these are the ones everyone finds the most attractive – its not cheap to get done but people are prepared to spend a bit more on this fabulously attractive examples.

To be perfectly frank its obvious why these clocks are so popular with their owners. Its because these clocks from the begining of the 18th century have a complex beauty in the face that is an accident of design evolution. Its two face designs build into one.

To explain, one set of face markings (the inner chapter ring marks and fleur-de-lys) is to allow the clock to be read by only the hour hand, and the the other set of markings (minute markers and seconds markers and chapter ring)is for our normal two handed reading method.

The two designs are blended to create a complex classic design that is simply an accident of social cirucumstance – clock reading literacy. These marking dissapear around 1730 so its the best date to buy when considering age vs cost because the clocks get more expensive the older they are due to rarity. The sweet spot is 1730 or thereabouts in my view.

As the art of production had been practised for lifetime by 1730 and the industry was firmly established delivering product by this time so there are more clocks left today. This is why I would buy one of these. There are enough left in the market because there were quite a few made and at the same time they happen to be the best looking – prices are still actually reasonable compared to a good clock from only30 or 4 years earlier when the industry could still be considered in its infancy. Having said this they are still not that common so you will have to hunt around to get one for the right price, but its possible and Im assuming your prepared to invest a bit of time in the chase if your reading this.

Factor in £1k for what could be extensive bespoke repairs if your buying remotely or cant get a guarantee of functionality. It could even be £2k so just get that all important guarantee that its working or your money back.

That guarantee is necessary because you have to bear in mind every single movement component is hand made. Literally. Even the bridge screws match their holes. Replacing broken components means a lot of work and if the broken components are missing Id honestly just as well you didn’t phone me about the repair – do the other thing, but a working clock!. Id prefer to help you do that then work out escapement tooth gradients surrounded by the remains of a Frankenstein clock.

As an owner I have a London Brass face from 1730 and a Country 1780 12″ square face both of which I adore. I put both together as marriages for under £2000 but its going to cost you probably around £3-5k for a good 1730 era clock.

Im pretty sure I could go to market now, July ’18, and get something absolutely beautiful and authentic for about £4000 on a brass face for a clock made in a major town in the 18 century. I wouldnt expect the case to be original to the clock inside but I will come to that. £2500 would get you an enamel face you would never sell and very possibly in its original case. These clock curios will only increase in value in the same way classic cars do and property does. In my opinion.

If you really want to go to town, specifically London, you should expect a London made brass face WITHOUT its original case for a few thousand more, expect to pay 18k+  for a known maker clock in its original good quality case (this article is July 2018).

Credited to: https://braintreeclockrepairs.co.uk/