Butt Ugly Retro Clock

[Dean Perdue]

Cougar-
Wouldn't think of altering this or any other piece.Ugly or not.
Not too sure what your getting at, but if your thinking it's not worth $3.00 I'm sure you would not be the only one.
The clock motor does work and makes a ticking sound with every second.

Railman & T.O.T.S.S.-
Probably many more stories that could fill a book regarding mysterious occurrences with clocks.
What antique signifies or bears witness to the history of time better?
Great hearing these stories and it does make you wonder.
I'd love to hear more if anyone has a similar experience.

Railman,was this clock a prized possesion and held dear by your father?
Maybe if anything could make a statement it would be this type of thing happening in this exact time frame.

Father Time is what I always call this item,lacking a better or proper name.He does have the beard going.
Also thought the rays/flames were a sunburst.

What impressed me about this clock was the message about birth and death it put out, probably best put as I know in a song that states "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"

To me it appears the dying old man(11:59pm) gasping for his last breath, tries to gazes up at the two smiling babies  (12:01am) who look down on him laughing at his predicament, only they will be in the same situation sure enough.
Maybe this has something to do with that fragment of a  second when the ending and beginning meet together.

Sapphire, Great links. I spent hours checking the one out with amazement.
Thanks

[Dean Perdue]

This would be an idea sort of icon to mount on a dashboard of perhaps one of these type of transport vehicles...

Oh come on RegularJoe-
This beauty has been proudly displayed ever since I got it.
Maybe if I take Cogar's suggestion about the paint, then add some diamonds to the numerals and put in some other $$bling$$ here and there as well, it would be worthy of the Ghetto Cruiser.

[railman44]

It was his favorite.  I've seen real jeweler's regulators with the fancy cases go for $15,000.  Mine is a plane-jane walnut case but a beautiful clock. 

[Dean Perdue]

Railman, Im sure the value on this clock is not in the $$ form.
Totally cool to have one of these old clocks with a history that was handed down to you.
Got to look at it and smile.

[regularjoe2]

Thanks for posting this piece , Dean .

I can't say that I could deny it's charm .

I recant my earlier position , and will stand in the corner for a min.

In light of your posted observations about the figures , perhaps this might be classified as a "Ro-croako" style ?

 

I'll admit that I have an ugly , cheapo thing - picked up at a sale somewhere for $0.25 - it's been sitting on my desk for years .
For all the fancy-schmancy stuff I have ..... don't know why , but I like it & would not sell it for a hundred bucks (or more) .

It will probably go into the 'dumpster/free pile' after I pass away .

[Appeasp]

I have noticed that the clock in the forum does not seem to match any US time zones....so which time zone is it in? It kind of looks like threads are tagged with whatever time it is in the members zone.  Maybe it could be changed to be in one time zone?

[cogar]

Cougar-
Wouldn't think of altering this or any other piece.Ugly or not.
Not too sure what your getting at, but if your thinking it's not worth $3.00 I'm sure you would not be the only one.

Dean, if it works, then its worth $3.

But if I had bought it for $3, I would have painted it up like I suggested ...... and put  a price tag of $19 on it ........ and sold it to the first person to offer me anything over $12 for it.

A $7+ profit on a $5 item is a good profit. And in the long run you make as much or more money on small items as you do on high dollar items.

When I use to sell at a local indoor Flea Market on weekends, I would hit all the garage sales and parking lot sales of a morning and buy just about anything that was dirt cheap ($0.50, $1.50) and useable, from glass carafes for drip coffee pots to toasters, mixers, etc. People needing those items come to Flea Markets to get them because they don’t want to buy new ones and they know they will work if they buy it. Why would anyone pay $16 for a new coffee pot if they could buy a carafe for $4 to replace the one they broke? School teachers will.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I have had more fun reading this particular thread. The clock's got prop value, that is for sure. It would be perfect for a haunted house, goth decor, or as mentioned, as a hood ornament on a lime green Chrysler Lebaron. One of these days we should all meet for lunch and have a beer and reminisce about "the clock"!

[KC]

Gotta love this thread....I can still hear the clocks of my grandparents homes (in my hollow head of course).  When I was really young it was creepy and scary.  The older I got the feeling of creepiness left and a feeling of security/sameness came with the rhythmic tick-tock and chimes.  I have always loved that.

Unfortunately, my better half did not acquire that same love.  I have inherited 3 clocks plus my grandfather (who was a carpenter) made me a grandfather clock when I was 15.  They are silent.  My better half is such a light sleeper that the sound of pendulums (that a pin drop would sound 10x louder) mysteriously stop working...nothing wrong....they mysteriously stop in the middle of the night!  Well....someones going to be up busy tonight mysteriously stopping the pendulums.....I'm getting them all going today! 

[Dean Perdue]

Dean, if it works, then its worth $3.
But if I had bought it for $3, I would have painted it up like I suggested ...... and put A price tag of $19 on it ........ and sold it to the first person to offer me anything over $12 for it.

Problem with that is I paid $400. for it so I'm not thinking the $12. is going to bring me a profit.

I know what your saying though about turning items over, but I got this because I actually like it.

Some gaudy or ugly items actually command high prices.
Case and point, look at crazy furniture or light fixtures of the  60's & 70's.

Maybe because these items were so ugly/stylish and didn't have great sales or production numbers,it makes them not often seen and snapped up by collectors when they are.
Also think that these kind of items, because of there lack of appeal to many, would be first in line for the garbage after the fad had passed. JMO though.

Regularjoe2
I think you did great for a quarter.Is it hand made?Someone put allot of time and effort into that and I'm happy to see it has an appreciative owner.It deserves that.

LOL KC,
Go fellow antique collector Go
A game of Spy vs Spy at your house.Definitely not boring
Your poor better half is going to have a bad night/morning.
Hope you can break her and win.
You can't beat time,right.
Let us know how this works out tomorrow and if your still married.

[talesofthesevenseas]

This is one of my all time favorite weird clocks. It is a 1929 Swedish clock that stands in Vikingsholm, a historic house that you can tour in the Lake Tahoe area. I remember seeing it in the late 60's or early 70's and can still remember being fascinated by it:

[Dean Perdue]

I thought my example was strange but I know this one wins hands down no question about it.You would have to look long and hard for a stranger example and I'm not so sure there is one.

Maybe KC should show this example to his better half and then she'll appreciate how normal his collection really is and be more accepting of it.
Now I can see where poor KC picked up these feelings of creepiness and fear about these clocks when he was young.

Bet there would be a buyer who would pay decent money for it too.
 
Scary & weird all rolled into one.
Perfect canidate for Night Gallery.

[tendr]

I don't think it's ugly at all.

[Dean Perdue]

Thanks Tendr.

Glad to find I'm not the only one in the world who saw some appeal in it.
Appreciate you posting that comment.

[tendr]

I'm back. Cogar, if you were selling that at a flea mkt i would buy it for the price you offered and then painted it back all one color.
OMGOSH i didn't realize it blew up and so i'm looking at it large....

uh, i want it lol.