First blog...

As the title says, this is my first attempt at a blog, so if it goes horribly wrong please bear with me... Hopefully it will improve with experience!

I think I had better start with a bit of an information about what I do.

Most of my work is repair and/or restoration of customers' clocks, but I also have a selection of clocks some of which I have now restored and are for sale. I also work on mercury and anaeroid barometers, barographs, music boxes (and even the occasional clockwork toy… :-) )

I am not a specialist in any particular type of clock, but mainly restrict myself to jobs ranging from miniature carriage clocks to longcase (or ‘grandfather’) clocks. In terms of quality, I will work on everything from your Grandad’s Westminster chime to a marine Chronometer (but the Westminster chime would probably need to have a lot of ‘sentimental’ value for you to be prepared to pay the cost!). – For example, I have currently have on test an Atmos clock, a longcase clock, a Westminster chime and 3 striking mantel clocks, a repeat strike/alarm carriage clock, a dial clock, and 2 Vienna Regulators, with another carriage clock and a mantel clock currently under repair – and a load waiting!

Actually, on the subject of Atmos clocks, there is a bit of a problem. They are made by Jaeger LeCoultre, who, like most of the Swiss horology houses, operate a ‘no parts sales’ practice. This, I believe, is an illegal restrictive practice. The European General Court has recently ruled that this is indeed the case... but no doubt there will be an appeal, and the situation will drag on for another decade or two before anything actually changes.

Luckily it does not affect me very much as most of the output of these companies is watches which I don’t handle, but it does affect me on the rare occasions when I need parts for clocks such as the Atmos. The only way round the ban is to fit parts that are copies of the originals, which can be obtained from some paces in the US. I don’t like having to do this as they are, inevitably, not exact copies, which means that the performance may be slightly affected. I can’t see how this is in the interest of J le C.

It is also not in their interest as it means that there will be far fewer watchmakers capable of working on good quality mechanical movements for them to chose from to employ in their own workshops!

A strange coincidence happened last week. I went to the AGM of the Cheltenham branch of the British Horological Institute, and there was a new member there, who had recently joined the branch. What is odd in that you ask? Nothing, except that he was someone I knew and had considered starting a joint venture with when I was in South London, but who had completely vanished off the face of the horological world for about 20 years! I was very pleased to catch up with him…

Speaking of BHI branches, if you are interested in horology, please do come to the branch meetings. You don’t need to be a member of the Institute, let alone a professional horologist. They have some very interesting talks on an assortment of subjects, mainly linked to the trade but not exclusively so, and a good natter before & after. Most branches meet on a monthly basis, though many will have a break in the summer and/or  winter months. You can get details of your nearest branch and when it meets from the Institute headquarters.