Keeper of the Clock
| As many of you may know, my father recently passed away. As expected, we've had to sort through his belongs, and move them out of his home. It would be an understatement to say that he had allot of stuff. Well, there was one item that nobody really wanted, but it had a great deal of value to my dad - his grandfather clock. His father had made one a very long time ago, but my dad didn't get to have it when his father passed away. So, shortly after moving into his cluster home, where he had the required space for one, he bought a rather expensive grandfather clock. Granted, it's pretty enough, but it's not something that "goes" into just any home. My brother couldn't take it, and didn't really want it. There's absolutely not enough room in his small house. My mother lives in a small condo, so that left me to be the default keeper of the clock. Honestly, it's pretty enough, but I wiould never buy such an item. It's big. My daughter (19 y.o.) likes it, so I'm going to be the "keeper of the clock" until she has a suitable place of her own to display it. Knowing that it hadn't been serviced in some time, I had the local clock shop come out and perform the required maintenance on it. While the technician was here, I had him show me how to turn off the chimes. I really don't want to listen to it "going off" every 15 minutes. Now, the main problem with having this at my house is that I no longer have room to store vintage cabinets in my living room. So, I'M CLEARING OUT THE INVENTORY! I've already sold two of them directly from my website, but I'm in the process of putting the last two up on eBay to move them ASAP. Bidding will start at $9.99 with NO reserve. |  |
What a beautiful grandfather clock! I'm glad you're keeping it for your DD.
We have one that is 23 y/o and keep it serviced regularly. It's a shame the newer ones, like sewing machines, are being made cheaply and are 'disposable.'
After a while, you probably wouldn't notice the chimes. I often don't notice ours, as it's part of the sounds of the house.
Thank you Doris.
It is a very fine piece and my father paid dearly for it. There is even an engraved, brass plaque on the inside of the door with the date it was made for him and his name.
I won't be getting use to the chimes- it's set to not make any noise apart from the soft, rhythmic "tick-tock".
Looks like a nice piece. Is the clock movement custom work? I've built three clocks and making a movement like that (with chimes, a lunar dial and what appears to be a date window) is NOT simple. A competent craftsman might take months on a clock like that. Me, it would take a year or more :^) And some hair.
A true piece of craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, the last 20-30 years have flooded the market with lots of "disposable" movements. I've worked on some of them... pressed pot metal, plastic wheels, rivets rather than screws, not fun.
Still, whatever you've got, it appears to be a keeper of a case.
One thing you might want to do (in case the clock shop didn't already) is make sure the movement is leveled out and possibly attach the top of the case to the wall behind it, particularly if you've got small ones around. Long case clocks are inherently top-heavy (although your case design perhaps less than most) and it's best to avoid an accident.
...and you have the right idea. You are simply a "keeper" of a timepiece - if you treat it right and service it regularly, your daughter will pass it on to her children someday.
Kind of like a good sewing machine.