Keeping Vintage Clocks Ticking

At Clocks Upcycled we do four things:

1. CONVERT old mechanical (wind up) clockwork clocks to a modern, reliable, quiet, battery (quartz) movement. This is the clock conversion service – available from £70. Pop over to the Instagram gallery for recent examples of customer’ clock conversions – vintage clocks converted to battery. With a new Seiko movement it is now possible for us to add Winchester Chimes to your clock during conversion. Important note – whenever possible all effort is made to re-work and re-use the ORIGINAL hands, dial, glass, bezel etc. The aim is to keep the clock looking as it always has – adding new external components changes things too much and the clock loses it’s character.
2. VINTAGE CLOCK MAKEOVER is the “full monty” – taking an old clock and giving it some serious TLC. The average price for a complete strip down, re-paint (new colour scheme if required), polish glass & metalwork AND convert to Quartz (battery) is £100-£130. More details on this clock makeover service here
3. CONVERT your Classic Car’s electro-mechanical / clockwork dashboard clock to a Quartz movement. This is a relatively new service but something that has been very well received by several Classic Car Owner’s Clubs. More details on the Car Clock Conversion Service here. The average price for a classic car clock conversion is £90-£100
4. Take old broken, unloved clocks and give them some TLC and often a contemporary makeover. These clocks are then sold on ETSY. Browse some examples of Upcycled Clocks here.

Clockwork to Battery – Vintage Clock Conversions

Send me your vintage clock for conversion from CLOCKWORK movements to modern, quiet, quartz AA battery movements. It’s a simple process, just send me the clock, I then remove the clockwork mechanism and replace it with a quartz movement. Whenever possible (95% of the time) I retain all the original hands, glass, dial and bezel. I guarantee full communication throughout the entire process. Once completed, your converted battery powered clock is returned to you ready for years of hassle free timekeeping.

A Recent Conversion incorporating Winchester Chimes

Something we’ve wanted to do for years is to add a quartz movement with Winchester Chimes. The problem was – to be blunt – there weren’t any good ones at a reasonable price. Not anymore – these new Seiko movements are very realistic – a lovely deep mellow sound. More details on converting a Winchester Chime clock to battery here.

Clocks Recently Converted to Battery

The clocks shown in the gallery below are all examples of mechanical clocks that have been sent to me for conversion to a modern quartz movement. The difficult part of this conversion is keeping the original hands. The style of the hands installed on vintage clocks account for a great deal of their personality and charm. 95% of the time I can keep the original hands – generally after a bit of modification. This way – the returned clock look, from the outside at least – the same as it did 75 years ago. THe first clock shown below now only looked the same as it did in the 1950’s – it also sounded the same. This clock utilised the new Seiko Quartz movement with Winchester Chimes – a lovely mellow sound, something we’re going to use much more.

Vintage Clock Makeovers

All the Clocks shown below have all undertaken some sort of Up-Cycling. From a simple clean and re-paint – to a full makeover and conversion to Quartz. All these clocks were originally manufactured in the 1950’s or 60’s – sometime even earlier. Each vintage clock has been given a unique makeover giving it a retro / contemporary style all of it’s own. Sometimes we manage to repair and regulate the original clockwork movement. Unfortunately – a majority of the time, due to budget restraints, I have to replace it with a modern quartz (AA battery) mechanism. If you have an old family heirloom clock that you think would benefit from a makeover – please contact me to start a commission. The average price for a strip down, re-paint, polish glass and metalwork AND convert to Quartz (battery) movement is £90-£100. In all cases I try to maintain the character of the old clock – reusing the original glass, bezel, dial and, importantly, hands.

Smith’s 8 Day Mantel Clock Makeover

This clock arrived like so many other from the 1950’s and 60’s. The mechanical movement was not working but thankfully repairable. The casing was chipped with peeling varnish. With a little bit of hard work this precise clock has had a full makeover. Two tone paint scheme (chosen by the customer), original hands, glass, bezel and chapter ring. The mechanical movement has been cleaned and regulated giving a more than reasonable +/- 2 mins per day.

Recycled German Mantel Clock from the 1920’s

An imposing mantel clock dating back to the 1920’s made in Germany by H.A.C. The clockwork movement in this clock was unfortunately beyond economical repair. I have applied a contemporary slate blue paint over whilst maintaining the marquetry detailing. The original glass and brass bezel look good with these new hands. The broken mechanical movement was exchanged for a modern AA battery quartz movement providing accurate, almost silent time keeping for many years to come. This upcycled clock is a statement piece and would look great in a dining room, lounge or hallway

DIY Clock Conversion anyone?

If you want to try it yourself – please pop over to our DIY Clock Conversion page with a range of Quartz Clock Movement Kits – everything thing you need to either build or convert a clock.

Get in touch today

If you have a clock that needs converting to BATTTERY and some general TLC – please get in touch today