Great-Grandmother's Clock

This clock belonged to my grandmother, and in recent years my father has taken immaculate care of it. In my childhood, it sat on the mantle in the room next to my bedroom, and I listened to its rich, resonant tones each hour. It never woke me at night. It is cast iron, made about 1920. The company was bought in 1929 by a Russian firm, and moved overseas.

For my dad's birthday, several family members thought it would be nice to replace the wind-up mechanism with a quartz movement, since the winding of it is a bit tedious to do. So now we can hear the clock again, and it can tick away on the top of the bookcase in the living room.

Adam volunteered to take it apart and exchange the mechanisms. He's good at this kind of thing.

This is the chime at the bottom. Adam thumped it with his finger firmly and, sure enough, I heard again the same beautiful tone she's always made.

Here are the works. You can see the clapper, which hits the chime, or bell. Of course, Adam kept this wonderful mechanism, in the box, with instructions, so if anyone later wishes to replace it, he can.

Reassembling the face:

It's looking like itself again.

All done. Of course, the quartz movement comes with its own chiming sound. Right now, we have it set to Westminster Chimes, although I think my mother wanted another setting. Adam can adjust it if they want it.

It's like having an old friend, back in the house again.