Ticking Along

Passionate About Clocks and Watches

My Story

I became aware of the beauty in clocks during the late 60’s, early 70’s. When I was a child, dad came home from work (Self employed wire worker) with an 1880’s American pendulum drop dial wall clock that was black with soot from the Smithies foundry of dads premises. Cleaned up and working it was the first clock in the house & we loved it.
A few years later it was followed by a 400-day anniversary clock that left me amazed that four balls rotating could keep time.

Mum had a cocktail watch that she was gifted for their engagement which unfortunately got wet many times whilst washing up. The movement was eventually replaced by a battery quartz movement.

Fast forward to 2011 & mums watch & the two clocks came into my ownership & I immediately had both clocks restored. It gave me great pleasure listening to their heartbeat again as they incite loving memories, both reminding me of such happy days. I didn’t however enjoy listening to my children complaining about the bell which chimed on the hour as it sounded like a broken push bike bell!

I would like to thank Derek from www.karizmaclocksandwatches.com for repairing my clocks & planting the seed that this was something i might become passionate about.

For my daughters 21st I decided that I wanted to gift her my mother’s cocktail watch. I wanted it to have the original mechanical movement & I wanted to restore it. This was a big ask as I had never restored a watch before & this one was so so tiny. I had however served in heavy industry as an instrument mechanic & maintained high speed assembly equipment within the computer industry giving me some of the maintenance skills suited to this restoration project

A year later, many trashed watches & a small fortune spent I had restored mums watch. It was beautiful & fully functioning. I had to replace a wheel which had a broken tooth plus the main , hair & click springs, but it was well worth the time & effort.


This was the start of my passion for collecting & restoring watches & later clocks. I love breathing life back into them & hearing their heartbeat again.