While away for a couple of days, I found this rather nice clock in an antique shop. Cost me £30, so not a massive expense for something this nice.
After a bit of coaxing (oiling, some light persuasion on a gear), it is now running and is keeping pretty regular time. Infact, it seems to have kept the time pretty accurately since I adjusted it last night - it agrees with my MBP’s idea of what the time is. Analogue time is always approximate, but so far, so good.
The only down side is that it’s a bit eccentric when it comes to chiming the hour and half hour. Sometimes it does, sometime it doesn’t, and there is a gap between each “bong” that is just a little too long, and you wonder if it’s going too chime again. I suspect that the spring for the chiming mechanism is a bit broken or not delivering enough power. Whatever the reason, it will end up in a repair shop for a service eventually. Most clocks of this kind (mantlepiece clocks) have an 8 day mechanism - which means you only need to wind it once a week - this includes the chiming system.
The case is a bit tatty. Clearly it’s not a top of the range model. It was probably bought in Woolworths, and would be found in a lower/middle class home. The sun rays on one side is a bit bashed. It will be cleaned (it’s dusty and the glass has grubby finger prints all over it), the sun ray removed and straightened and replaced, but nothing more. It will sit somewhere in the house ticking away. When it’s been serviced, it will also be chiming more regularly.
I like mechanical clocks. One with a good tick adds a bit of life to the house.
