clock & barometer repairs
 
01277 658800   Billericay

 

most clocks repaired

The English skeleton clock in Image 1 has no passing strike but really thick, nicely finished plates and a bevelled pendulum rod. Thin plates are prone to buckling under the strain of the heavy mainspring found in fusée movements so they need to be straightened out first. Pivot holes can also be difficult to rebush as there is sometimes a limited amount of surrounding brass so new bushes may need to be made by hand.

The Dutch Stoelklok in Image 2 hadn't been serviced for fifty years. Similar in construction to an English birdcage clock, it has a verge escapement, strikes the hour on a bell and also has an alarm feature. Obtaining the correct chain for the weight can be difficult because it has a figure of eight pattern, unlike the straight links found in English longcase clocks. I have sources in Holland, but they are quite expensive.

Image 3 shows a 30-hour Japanese pillar clock, so called because it hangs from a structural wooden pillar on a rice paper wall (only the top is illustrated here). Up until 1870, the Japanese system of timekeeping divided daylight hours from dawn to dusk into six, and nighttime from dusk to dawn into another six. An hour therefore varied in duration according to the season and the hour markers have to adjusted every two weeks as the days or nights grow longer! It has no hands but a falling weight, regulated by a verge and balance wheel (or foliot), indicates the time.

The Astrolabium clock by Hermle pictured in Image 4 is modern but still interesting as in addition to showing the time, it follows the movement of the Earth and moon round the sun. After another repairer had declined to work on it a second time, I traced the problem with this one to the quartz movement, where the driving pinion, which is magnetic, had worn out. This is unusual so no wonder the previous repairer missed it. The whole clock has to be dismantled to access it but once I had sourced a replacement, it turned out to be quite an easy job.

Image 5 shows a Chinese fake antique Diana Mystery clock signed by Junghans of Germany. The telltale signs are that the hand set knob is offset and not in the centre, and the mainspring was open and not encased in a barrel. Nevertheless, for sentimental reasons it had to be repaired. If you have one and are having difficulties with timekeeping, remember it has a compound pendulum so contrary to normal rules, you need to raise the bottom pendulum to slow the clock, not lower it. Alternatively, open the bottom ball and remove some of the lead; it seems to work better. For more detail, look here.

Other less common clocks I've worked on include a couple of Swedish Mora longcases, a chess clock, a bird scarer, a Congreve Rolling ball clock and a range of limited edition Dent and Thwaites & Reed reproduction clocks.

Have a look at Prices next. Most paid for work is guaranteed.

See my separate page on Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos clocks if yours needs servicing or repairing and you can't afford the four-figure quote you've received from Jaeger.


REPAIRED

UNUSUAL CLOCKS:

  • Lyre shape skeleton clock with fusee movement but no passing strike
  • A 30-hour Dutch Stoelklok.
  • An antique Japanese pillar clock
  • A Hermle Astrolabium clock
  • A fake Chinese copy of a German Diana Mystery clock by Junghans