Clocks for your home and office.

April 2008 

Have you ever heard the cliche "Time Flies"? Do you think time flies? If time flies where does it go? The subject of time has been on my mind lately. Maybe it is because I had two granddaughters marry this year. I have been reminiscing when they were small children. Where did that time go? We have had lots of loving and fun times. Maybe it is because I will be 70 years old in a few months. I realize that life is very important, how very short it is and how fast it goes.

Time is defined in many ways depending on how you use it in a sentence. In this instance, time can be described as ones lifetime. Time is a non spatial continuum, in which events occur in As the clock ticks off minutes, hours and days, we may not have finished what we are doing or what we want to do, but the clock keeps ticking leaving us with less time. Time is irreplaceable and it cannot be saved.

As a child, time seemed like it stopped, it didn't go fast enough. We thought time would never pass for us to reach the age of twenty one. By the time we reach our fifties, we are thinking that time is going much to fast. As time passes, it picks up the pace and we hear "the older I get the faster time goes", or "time really flies". We look back on our memories and what is known as the "good old apparent irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future. days" and wonder where the time has gone. Time is the most valuable resource that we have.

Remembering those "good old days", my grandparents lived a block from my parents house.While growing up, I spent a lot of time there. After my Grandfather retired, both of them stitched hand made quilts. They used the old quilting frames they kept set up in the dining room. They gave them to children and grandchildren. Grandma used to say "we do it to pass the time". They also spent many hours in the front porch swing. They would talk about what their lives were like raising their family. My Grandfather owned a gasoline jobber business. The boys in the family helped out there, while the girls helped in the house. They grew vegetables and fruits to feed their family. We heard stories about not having a road in front of their house when they built it, then a mud and gravel road before paving. There was no or little money and things were bartered or traded. During the war, gasoline was one of the things that was rationed. Grandpa would save his ration stamps for my Dad. Dad lived in the big city. For him to come home on weekends, Grandpa would give him the stamps.

I remember the smell of the blooming sweet peas growing on the fence in the back yard. I remember the fresh baked cookies always available in their cookie jar. Memories remain as if time stood still. As my Grandparents grew older, when we were ending our visit, we would say "we will see you next time". Grandma would respond with "Well, I hope so." She knew their time was growing near. My grandparents have both been gone several years, but I will always cherish the memories and the time I spent with my grandparents. Where did the time go?

Now, I am telling stories of the "good old days" to my grandchildren. My parents, the years of my growing up, marrying and raising a family, are just some of the things we talk about. I often wonder how the past 70 years have gone so fast and I think maybe time really does fly. In a span of 70 years there are 25,550 days, 613,000 hours, 36,792,000 minutes and 2,207,520,000 seconds. Did I use this time wisely? We can't go back and get that time. Did I accomplish everything that was meant for me to do? How will I pass the time for the rest of my years? Will my grandchildren cherish the time I spent with them? I certainly hope so.

In a time for taking stock of ones life, time can be defined as a suitable or opportune moment or season. I have had many moments of opportune moments or seasons. As I look back in time, re-living those memories of past times, can we really determine if time flies? Where did it go? Each of us has the same twenty four hours of a day. The days may go by slowly, but the years really do seem to fly.

Reference: Wikipedia 

Why Clocks?

By Margaret Mauldin

March 2008

The question is WHY CLOCKS?  Who needs them?  All of us live by natures clock; night into day, day into night with each year bringing the seasons.  They persist even when we are cut off from time cues.  Into this natural cycle comes the artificial clock.  A clock is an instrument for indicating and measuring time. How different our lives would be without the familiar clock dictation of our comings and goings, our work time and leisure, our technology and culture.  Without clocks, the multiple activities of our lives would be impossible. 

The clock is a machine, a man made device with no model in nature. The mechanical clock was developed until an accuracy of a hundredth-of a-second a day was achieved. The central feature of all mechanical clocks is a mechanism which enables a clock to tick off time at minute intervals.  For clock specialists, the term clock means exclusively a devise with a striking mechanism for announcing intervals of time acoustically, by ringing a bell, a set of chimes or a gong.

Civilizations in the Middle East and North Africa began to examine forms of clock making 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.  Little is known on how these forms worked, but these civilizations realized the need of time to organize their formal cultural activities.  In the history of clocks and time-keeping, one of the earliest clocks was driven by water; the Roman 'horologium'. This term was later applied to the earliest mechanical clocks. The first mechanical clocks only indicated time by sounding a bell each hour. This kind of 'horloge' became a 'clocca', from the Latin for 'bell'. By the 14th century, this had evolved to 'clocke' in English. Once the mechanism was developed to indicate the time visually, this new part was called the 'watch', taking its name from the parts of a day as used to manage sentries and sailors. If a timepiece struck the hours and showed the time, it was thus called a 'clock-watch'. Most early mechanical clocks were driven by the fall of weights.

The technological development which made the first reliable mechanical clock was the verge escapement, invented in about 1275. The escapement controls the flow of power to the rest of the movement; without it the clock would keep time poorly.

Wheels of different sizes and patterns of notches or pins make up the train; this rotates the hands at different speeds and strikes the hours and quarters. Early clocks were large and expensive and were usually only on churches and other public buildings. Domestic clocks began to appear in British houses in about 1600. These early clocks, called 'chamber clocks', were of the 'lantern' type. The name 'lantern' may come from their appearance, or else is a corruption of the word 'latten', meaning brass. They were hung from a hook on the wall and weights hung down below them on ropes, later chains. There were up to three weights - for the time, the striking and sometimes also an alarm. They had no pendulum, which was not invented until 1658. A bell on top was struck to indicate the hours. Most had an hour hand only, with markings on the dial for hours and quarter hours.

The earliest clock had to be nine feet off the ground because they required long pendulums and large cast iron descending weights.  These clocks would run for just 12 hours. Later models ran for one day or perhaps 30 hours. The first clocks were made of iron; later brass became the preferred metal, often with thickly gilded dials. Wooden cases were used to hide the unsightly weights and cast iron pendulums.

The devices in ancient days were obviously not very accurate, fancy nor portable, but it was a beginning.  Much of modern life has come to depend on precise measurements of time and clocks have evolved into works of art.  Communication, electric power, manufacturing and financial markets all depend on accurate time pieces.  Our concept of time and using it together with technology still has room for re-assessment regarding our journey into the future.

Reference:  Wikipedia

Tidbits of Clock Antiques

by Margaret Mauldin

Antique collecting is the assembling of items of aesthetic, historical or monetary values from earlier eras. Clocks are highly desirable collectibles when antique. How old does an antique have to be to be considered an antique?

Legally and traditionally, an antique is usually defined as an object over 100 years old. In the history of clocks and time-keeping, one of the earliest clocks was driven by water. Most early mechanical clocks were driven by the fall of weights. The first mechanical clocks only indicated time by sounding a bell each hour.

During the 20th century, clocks as well as many other objects became desirable collector items of the past. With the growth of interest in antique clocks, an expertise in historical styles, construction styles and methods for the care and identification of clocks, as well as other objects has developed. Grandfather clocks are among the most appealing of all clocks. Most were made in England between the late 17th and 19th centuries, although lesser numbers were also produced in Europe and America. Although some exceptions exist, the two basic types of grandfather clocks are 8 day and 30 hour clocks. In collecting antique grandfather clocks, the 8 day is the more elaborate of the two types. Have clocks become family heirlooms?

Emotional factors, such as belonging to a family member or if the clock can be proven to have belonged to a celebrity or someone of historical importance may make the clock more desirable. Clocks hold their intrinsic value as it is passed along by family members. Touch the smooth fine wood of the clock, listen to the melodious chimes or sounds it makes. The décor of a home is complete when adorned with a fine gift of time, a clock. Clocks are sold in all budgets from modest pieces with little decoration to clocks with moving parts and works of art that can occupy an entire wall or table.

Why do they last so long?

With proper care and maintenance, a clock can keep perfect time for many years. A clock should only be oiled by a professional clock maker to keep from damaging the clock.

How well do antique clocks hold their value?

A clockmaker guide can help identify the maker of a clock. The signature on the clock can help indicate when the clock was made. The physical appearance of a mantle clock, grandfather clock, cuckoo clock, or wall clock, is an important factor in estimating the value of a clock. Clocks that have the original elements, which have never been restored and are clean clocks, have a greater value than those in poor condition or have been altered. A clock with the makers label or signature intact, and a clock with its original glass and decorative elements can all increase the value of a clock. To determine when a clock was made might prove to be a difficult task. Some have a signature located on the movement of the clock dial. Relying on the signature however may be deceiving. Sometimes the signature is the name of the distributor rather than the clockmaker. Sometimes signatures are added to give an appearance of age and value. A clockmaker guide can help identify the maker of a clock. The signature on the clock may help identify when the clock was made. All of the above can help in determining the value of a clock.

Reference: Wikipedia