Posted August 21, 2012
Perhaps this should not come as a surprise for grandfather clock enthusiasts, but we at 1-800-4clocks.com have found that a great way to get real and interesting news relating to pretty much all aspects of grandfather clocks, as well as some on wall clocks and mantle clocks, is to simply type into the Google or Yahoo or Bing search engines the phrase news grandfather clocks.
We have found some exciting are interesting timepiece and horological pieces just by looking at this clocks search term on a regular basis. One also finds what might be considered some of the more fluffy grandfather clock pieces, such as videos by grandfather clock shops and retailers showing rows of clocks, or a YouTube video link to how to wind a grandfather clock or that kind of more very basic feature clock story.
In today’s news search, we saw that what would historically been considered a miniscule amount of mercury in a grandfather clock, just 2-3 ounces, spilled from the pendulum of an antique grandfather clock in the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, and it was treated as a HazMat incident by the local Fire Department and other authorities. When the author of this post was a child, that amount of mercury was considered non-hazardous and was an amazingly fun element to play with (note we are not suggesting you try this at home or anywhere, as scientific knowledge has changed over time).
Some of the best antique grandfather clocks, as well as antique mantel clocks and even antique regulators and wall clocks have mercury pendulums, usually with glass vials containing the mercury, and sometimes also sealed in metal inside the pendulum. The amazing property of mercury is that it expands and contracts depending upon changes in temperature, and in such a way that it allows for the most accurate timekeeping of pretty much all mechanical grandfather clocks and mantel and wall regulator clocks, with the possible exception of fusee bracket clocks and fusee driven grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks and the occasional fusee wall clocks one is lucky enough to come across. Yet both antique clocks with mercury pendulums, and antique fusee movement driven clocks are among the most expensive and most collectible of the clocks out there, partly because of their fine movements and relative scarcity in addition to their amazing mechanical timekeeping abilities.
So if you are really into either clock news in general, or grandfather clock or floor clock news in particular, a search engine query along the lines described above is a great way to stay current.
Any clocks news stores you come across that seem particularly noteworthy, please let us know either in the comments section or by emailing us, and there is a good chance we will feature them if we feel our regular readers will be interested.
News Grandfather Clocks search on Google
© Grandfather Clocks Blog and 1-800-4CLOCKS
