Golden Era Styled Clocks

[Warbaby]

This little bedside alarm clock/lamp is another of our favorites. Only the lamp is electric - the clock is a wind-up. It's on the "Waiting To Be Fixed" shelf due to the lack of a shade. I've been looking for the right shade for it for almost 10 years. Someday...

 

[Warbaby]

Here's another from the "Waiting To Be Fixed" shelf. Unusually small for a marble clock - only about 4" square.

 

[Shangas]

I love 1920s-1940s art deco styled clocks. I don't know if I'd ever get an actual one for myself, but a modern, battery-powered reproduction would be nice for my desk or room. I seem to have very bad luck with mechanical clocks. I got one clock jammed (and sold it thus) and I had one mechanical alarm clock which worked very well until the whole clock exploded (literally) because the frame holding the alarm-spring broke. It was like a bomb going off.

Ever since then, I stopped buying mechanical clocks.

I buy mechanical pocketwatches instead.

 

[Warbaby]

The solution to the problem of mechanical movements that aren't working is to replace the movement with a modern battery-operated movement. The movements are inexpensive (under $5.00) and very easy to replace. A good source for battery movements is Klockit. I've done this with several clocks that had movements too far gone to repair, as well as with European electric clocks that require 250V 50 cycle current. Here are photos of a couple that now have battery movements. I replaced the original movements in these while we were still living in Amsterdam because the thought of an all-metal clock running on ungrounded 250V made me a tad nervous.

BTW - I thought there was something odd about the photo of that little marble deco clock that I posted earlier and discovered that I had put the movement back in with the wrong orientation. Here it is the right way around:

 

[airgrabber666]

As far as I'm concerned, replacing the original electric motor with a quartz movement in a vintage clock is nearly tantamount to destruction. I guess if it's a common model and you don't ever plan on selling such a Frankenclock, then by all means, have at it. Of course, by now most golden-era clocks are not really that "common" anymore. If your clock doesn't work and you choose not to try and fix it yourself, please bring it to someone who can fix it properly. It's usually not that expensive of a repair.

 

[Warbaby]

As far as I'm concerned, replacing the original electric motor with a quartz movement in a vintage clock is nearly tantamount to destruction. I guess if it's a common model and you don't ever plan on selling such a Frankenclock, then by all means, have at it. Of course, by now most golden-era clocks are not really that "common" anymore. If your clock doesn't work and you choose not to try and fix it yourself, please bring it to someone who can fix it properly. It's usually not that expensive of a repair.

I agree with you in principle, but the electrics I've converted are all European clocks with 250V 50 cycle motors that can't be practically adapted to 120V 60 cycle current. As for the wind-up movements, I keep them if all they need is a good cleaning and oiling, which I can do myself. Repairs of movements that are damaged are usually out of the question for me because of the cost. In the end, I'd rather have a working clock that isn't fully original than a non-functional decoration.

Here's another nice little deco marble clock that had a thoroughly rusted movement that I've replaced:

 

[Professor]

Seth Thomas Mantle Clock

I moved several months ago, and of course packed the pendulum weight for this clock somewhere I couldn't find until tonight. Now I finally get to see if it'll even run properly, since after being repaired there was no place to put it where I'd been living previously. I don't know much about its history, except that it came from my great grandfather who was a jeweler and watchmaker. Someone suggested to me that it dated to the teens, and was very expensive when new.

 

[vitanola]

My grand-uncle and aunt received just this model clock as a wedding present in 1924. I believe that this model clock movement was introduced in 1914, with this specific case style made between about 1921 and 1928. There were many, many variations on these tambour cases made between around 1910 and 1960.