I want a wall clock, with a mechanical movement.
Discussion
You'll find it hard, if not impossible, to get a new clock to match that description without having one made to order. In terms of old ones there are really 2 (or 3 depending how you count) options, which tend to range from reasonably priced to slightly outrageous.
The cheapest tend to be "school" or "office" clocks from the early - mid 20th C. These tend to have perfectly serviceable 8-day movements by people like Smiths. There are also quite a few American versions by companies like Ansonia and Seth Thomas around. These tend to have hourly strike and are becoming collectable. 10 years ago you could hardly give them away because no-one wanted "cheap American junk" despite them being incredibly tough and long lived clocks!
You'll find late mechanical office clocks on EBay from about £50 upwards:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiths-School-Wall-Clock...
Next in line are older clocks (generally Victorian or earlier) with 8-day fusee movements. These are much nicer clocks mechanically but the price will reflect that. Expect to be looking around £400+ for these. Superficially, they tend to look similar to the first group but usually with a nicer quality of overall finish:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HANDSOME-ANTIQUE-ROUND-F...
The final type are "proper" railway clocks, issued and used by the various rail companies. Almost always quality fusee movements becaue timekeeping mattered. These are generally the most collectable and prices reflect that. It's also easy to get stung with imitations / outright fakes if you're not 100% sure what you're looking for / at. Prices can easily go into 4 figures.
Unless you're expecting to get seriously interested in collecting I'd suggest giving the railway ones a miss and go for a nice quality fusee or the very best 20th C you can find.
The cheapest tend to be "school" or "office" clocks from the early - mid 20th C. These tend to have perfectly serviceable 8-day movements by people like Smiths. There are also quite a few American versions by companies like Ansonia and Seth Thomas around. These tend to have hourly strike and are becoming collectable. 10 years ago you could hardly give them away because no-one wanted "cheap American junk" despite them being incredibly tough and long lived clocks!
You'll find late mechanical office clocks on EBay from about £50 upwards:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiths-School-Wall-Clock...
Next in line are older clocks (generally Victorian or earlier) with 8-day fusee movements. These are much nicer clocks mechanically but the price will reflect that. Expect to be looking around £400+ for these. Superficially, they tend to look similar to the first group but usually with a nicer quality of overall finish:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HANDSOME-ANTIQUE-ROUND-F...
The final type are "proper" railway clocks, issued and used by the various rail companies. Almost always quality fusee movements becaue timekeeping mattered. These are generally the most collectable and prices reflect that. It's also easy to get stung with imitations / outright fakes if you're not 100% sure what you're looking for / at. Prices can easily go into 4 figures.
Unless you're expecting to get seriously interested in collecting I'd suggest giving the railway ones a miss and go for a nice quality fusee or the very best 20th C you can find.
You're welcome 
One thing to bear in mind is it's a good idea to budget for an overhaul whatever you buy - between roughly £100 and £200 depending on the type (fusees cost more than later ones!).
Especially online, where you don't get a chance to inspect the clock first, the fact that the seller is claiming "recently serviced / overhauled" can mean anything from a proper strip down / clean / bushings where needed to "open the back and spray with WD40" - if you're lucky, having dunked it in petrol first to remove obvious dirt.
It's one of the reasons I tend not to sell online. I have no right to expect people in Internet Land to trust that I've done it properly, and online prices invariably reflect that!
One thing to bear in mind is it's a good idea to budget for an overhaul whatever you buy - between roughly £100 and £200 depending on the type (fusees cost more than later ones!).
Especially online, where you don't get a chance to inspect the clock first, the fact that the seller is claiming "recently serviced / overhauled" can mean anything from a proper strip down / clean / bushings where needed to "open the back and spray with WD40" - if you're lucky, having dunked it in petrol first to remove obvious dirt.
It's one of the reasons I tend not to sell online. I have no right to expect people in Internet Land to trust that I've done it properly, and online prices invariably reflect that!
RealSquirrels said:
Well it's basically not worth it unless you have £2000 to spend.
How do you work that out?There are plenty of good quality clocks in the £100 - £1000 range which will happily outlast you, your kids and your grand-kids with a little care. They're one of the few areas that you can still get something with the potential to become a genuine (and useable) heirloom without spending silly money!
Hi
I have a wall (pendulum) clock that was broken, I repaired it and all was well then it began stopping and after a week of restarting it then it being stopped the next day, The wife finally admitted that she was stopping it because she couldn't hear the telly for it!!
It's consigned to the loft now
John
I have a wall (pendulum) clock that was broken, I repaired it and all was well then it began stopping and after a week of restarting it then it being stopped the next day, The wife finally admitted that she was stopping it because she couldn't hear the telly for it!!
It's consigned to the loft now
John
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