Why We Don't Repair Every Type of Clock (And Why That's a Good Thing)

We're often asked whether we can look at a cuckoo clock, a battery-operated wall clock, or an electric mantel clock. The honest answer is no — and we think it's worth explaining why, rather than just turning the enquiry away.

Specialisation means depth, not breadth

Mechanical, spring and weight-driven antique and vintage clocks — longcase, mantel, carriage, bracket and wall regulator movements — are a deep craft on their own. Our clockmakers have spent years, including Swiss training at WOSTEP in Neuchatel, developing expertise specifically in these movements. Taking on battery, electric, cuckoo or watch mechanisms would mean spreading that expertise thinner, rather than going deeper on what we already do well.

Different mechanisms, different skills entirely

A cuckoo clock's cam-and-bellows mechanism, a battery clock's quartz movement, and a wristwatch's miniaturised escapement are genuinely different trades from a mechanical mantel or longcase movement. A clockmaker who tries to do everything often does none of it at the level a specialist does.

What this means for you

If you own a mechanical antique or vintage clock — the kind handed down through a family, found at auction, or inherited with a house — you're exactly who our workshop is built for. If you have a cuckoo, battery or electric clock, we'd rather be upfront that it's outside our specialty than take it on and do it a disservice.