Hello Jason,
Thank you for sending your Hall clock to merto.com for appraisal. I hope to be of help to you today. . .
TITLE:
Stained mahogany, three weight, 8-day time, strike and quarterly chiming Hall clock (aka-modern grandfather clock), Model 610-141, imported ‘Urgos’, West German movement, Case Serial Number 130471, made and sold by the Barwick Clock Division of the Howard Miller Clock Company, Zeeland, Michigan, circa 1970s. With original set-up instructions.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 80" x 13" x11.5" stained mahogany Hall clock with a double broken arch molding with ball and spire brass finials resting atop the break in the arch on either side. There is a rounded arched cornice above the arched glazed dial door. The door is flanked by block and turned colonnettes with multiple rings. A stepped molding leads down to the full length glazed trunk door enclosing a clear glass with stylistic undulations at the top and bottom just adjacent to applied foliate carvings. The door has a Chippendale type key escutcheon with an iveroid white pull. The tapered expanding base consists of decorated multi-stepped narrow levels with a broad wooden base sitting flat to the floor. There is a label inside the trunk door with the "serial number 139471, Howard Miller Clock Company, Zeeland Michigan, USA". . . .
DIAL: A brass alloy, arched dial with Arabic hours in round cartouche form with closed minute ring, brass embossed 'Cherubs with wings' corner spandrels and brass filigree rococo dial center. There are steel skeletonized Chippendale-style hands and no apertures for winding the weights. A silvered plaque carries the name of Howard Miller. The lunette has a revolving moon and two hemispheres. The controls for the chiming and strike/silent feature are operated from the arched aperture located @3 on the dial, //////////////////// Movement: NOT SHOWN, except in the paper instructions for setting up the clock. I believe this is an Urgos made three train, triple weight driven movement made by Urgos in West Germany. There are likely solid brass plates connected by tubular steel pillars, powered by the descent of three brass canister weights of eight day duration, with hourly and half hourly striking and quarterly chiming with full chime and strike on the hour. The three weights are wound by pulling down on the link chains which pulls the weights with their chains up onto the sprocket gearing inside the movement. The solid brass plate movement strikes via a series of hammers, on a series of metal rods inside the case. Three polished brass canister weights drive the movement, with a wooden pendulum rod and round brass bob. ////////////////////////////// Condition: The clock appears to be in very fine condition. I make the assumption it is fully functional today. The case is very fine as is the dial and movement. The original accompanying papers for directions to set up the clock are nice to have as well. . .
HISTORICAL:
History Born in 1905, Howard Miller followed in his father’s footsteps in the skilled craft of clockmaking. Hailing from the famed clockmaking area of the Black Forest region of Germany, Howard brought his clockmaking skills to the United States and founded his own clock company in Zeeland, Michigan in 1926 at the early age of just 21 years. From the beginning Howard Miller developed a focus on quality and innovation in his clocks. The company’s first products were a line of chiming mantel and wall clocks. While the first clocks were made in traditional American designs, after 1933 they introduced original clocks which won awards for their design. Many of these early clocks are prized by clock collectors and are displayed in clock museums due to the innovation of their design. In the 1960’s the company expanded its product line by introducing floor clocks that most of us call grandfather clocks. In 1964, they built a new factory; since then, the company has become not only the largest clock company in the United States but the largest producer of grandfather clocks in the world. Howard Miller died in 1995 at the age of 90 and the company that bears his name continues to manufacture quality clocks. . . . .
It was my pleasure to be of service to you today.
My fair market appraisal is based on actual recent past comparable sales recorded at auctions of similar Howard Miller tallcase clocks. The fair market value would be approximately $700-$900 at auction today. Retail "asking prices" can, of course, be significantly higher and vary.
Best regards,
David