Russell the Antique Clocks Collector in NY

"I suppose my shop is a clever way of financing my love of collecting, repairing and restoring antique clocks," writes our client Russell, who owns Tick-Tocks Antique Clocks in New York state. "If you have them, I want them and it doesn't matter how battered they are."

Russell has shopped with us many times, and so far he has always kept those clocks in his personal collection, which numbers about 25 antique clocks. He says his favorite is this Art Nouveau Mauthe Regulator clock with leaded glass, purchased from our Gallery:

Russell says he appreciates the high-quality craftsmanship of this era, "It is so beautiful and well made and the case so well preserved. The craftsmanship put into the glass and all the little pieces of trim decorating the clock case really speak to the hard work of the European clock craftsmen from a bygone era."

Russell's second-favorite clock comes with quite a story. "I found this 1920 Hansen grandfather clock with an Enfield Westminster chime movement at a hoarder's house in the town of Athens in upstate New York," he says. "It had been completely neglected and buried under years of crud and junk in the corner of a house left in complete disarray after the previous owner passed away. The clock sat buried under junk in that empty, unheated house for seven years until I found it and took it home. The movement and case were filled with layers and layers of muck, dead spiders and webbing. Many of the parts of the movement were rusted and seized up."

Despite the daunting condition of the clock (his wife wouldn't even let him bring it in the house until he cleaned it up!), Russell took on the restoration project with gusto. "It was a labor of love, but I restored every inch of the clock over the course of a year with the help of a friend, Chris Resch of the Dutchmasters Joinery in Fort Plain, New York. Together we brought this old clock back to the glory it deserved. Now it is the center piece of my living room."

The Antique Clocks Collector

Russell says he's had a love of antique clocks since he was a small boy. While visiting his aunt in Pennsylvania each year, he'd stop by the neighbors' home. The elderly German couple there would patiently show off their collection of cuckoo clocks, and Russell was bitten by the collecting bug. In fact, he has his own sizable collection of antique cuckoo clocks.

However, Russell says Art Deco is his favorite era. He has purchased six Art Deco clocks and one Art Nouveau clock from us so far. "I just really have a love for art and design from this period," he said, going on to add, "I will definitely continue to frequent your shop because you really have an eye for beautiful high quality antique clocks." We really appreciate hearing that from an expert in the field of antique clocks!

Here are a couple of the Art Deco clocks Russell has purchased from us.

Extraordinary Antique Clocks

In case you're wondering, Russell spends about 20 minutes winding his clocks every Sunday morning. He runs them in cycles of about a dozen at a time, he says. "Once in a while I run them all at once for kicks, but it gets too loud on the hour when they all chime, and I get annoyed because I like to hear each clock chime," he laughs.

We're delighted Russell offered to share his story with us, and equally delighted to have helped him with his antique clock collection!

If you love to collect a particular type of antique and would like us to feature it on the blog, just drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks again to Russell for sharing his wonderful story and fabulous photos! To learn about our own antique clock adventures, check out this post here!