Wound Once a Week
A Georgian grandfather clock for a grandson
The ask
Our first grandchild arrived on Tuesday, a boy. His parents have just moved into an old house with a staircase that wants something tall in it. My husband would like to give him a grandfather clock, a real one, that will still be running when he is our age. Under $5,000.
The gift
An English oak longcase clock made around 1785 in north-east England, its painted dial signed by the maker and its eight-day movement striking the hours. The movement is serviced and guaranteed for three years. A clockmaker delivers it, sets it in beat on the landing, and shows the parents how to wind it. We fix a brass plate engraved with his birth date inside the trunk door, and a wax-sealed card comes with it.
Why it's extraordinary
An eight-day clock is wound once a week. This one was made around 1785, and with that weekly turn of the key it can keep time through his whole life.
The moment
It strikes the hour on the landing, and one day the weekly winding becomes his job.
A curator replies within one business day.
