Chime Clocks

Hallway Chime Clock Chimes The Time to Dine

Written by Gail Agreen

We stayed in a lovely little bed and breakfast place while vacationing in New England. They had a large hallway where there was a clock that chimed every hour. Clocks that chime are not unusual, but sometimes the marked time means more to other than people. The owners had a dog and a cat and both stayed mainly in the hallway. It was cute because every time the clock chimed 12, both animals would get up and go to the kitchen to be fed.
At first we thought it was because they smelled food. But the owner informed us that since they didn’t want to risk wasting anything, they never put the food out until the pets gathered for it.
So, it was the time of the day they were used to being fed and the clock chiming the time that sent the pets to wait for their food. So cute! This experience led to our great interest in chime clocks, and the selection at Wind Song Wind Chimes has grown to include the unique, and great brand names. Come by our Facebook page and become a fan, we thank our fans with a fanpage only promotion.

Wall Mounted Chiming Clocks- How Do Clocks That Chime Work?

Great Chime Clocks Adorn the World With Historical Clocks That Chime

The history of chime clocks is one of different cultures designing clocks that chime for wall mounted chiming clocks, grandfather chime clocks, and even a tower chime clock. There are different types such as the repeater, design to pull a lever to hear the chimes and know the time in the dark. The chiming clock would often be set to chime on the quarter hour, playing fragments of a tune such as Westminster Quarters. The clocks get fancier as music clocks, playing from a music box. Automated clocks have a huge variety of characters, figurines that perform on display while the clock chimes or plays music. A common favorite are the German cuckoo clocks that play imitation bird calls while the clock chimes.

How Clocks That Chime Work

Chime clocks generally have either a count wheel system (14th century) or a rack and cam system. The count wheel runs separate from the timekeeping train and if the train ran down, the count wheel would get out of sync and have to be manually adjusted. ;So, the rack striking clock became the more popular design. The distance a rack is allowed to fall is determined by a snail-shaped cam, regulating the number of times the bell is allowed to sound. Clocks often used a single weight or mainspring to drive both the timekeeping and striking trains.

Clocks that Chime Do More Than Time | Chimes, Clocks

Out of the many types of clocks that chime, two traditional chime clocks are grandfather clocks and cuckoo clocks. Other clocks that chime that come to mind, chime at different times, like one chime to mark the half hour and others that chimed the quarter hour, or musical clocks that play a tune on the hour or once every three or four hours. Striking chimes are mostly known as 12 hour clocks mainly in Britain and Northern Europe, but in Italy the 24 hour clocks were prevalent in the 14th and 15th centuries. Early Roman numeral clocks used a low tone to signify 5 and a high tone to signifiy 1. If the high tones came before the low tone, they were subtracted from 5. The Roman numeral clocks are fairly rare today. Clock symbolize a connection to family history, where the family chime clock is a keepsake handed the the next generation. The clocks may still hold their charm and kept on display, even when the chime clocks are not kept up or are in need of mechanical repair. It is the family memories that are preserved in old time chime clocks. If your family does not have one, it’s time to pick one out and start your own family tradition. Consider a Kassel & Trade 15 hr traditional windup chime clock that fits about any home decor.

Grandfather Chime Clocks and Chime Clocks Have Unique Features and History

The pendulums in grandfather chime clocks have a weight or 'bob' suspended by a rod, the bob is usually a smooth disk that is lens shaped for air resistance and the weight of the 'bob' is as heavy as the suspension can support and the movement apparatus can drive. This improves the clock's accuracy.

The 12 hour chime clock eventually set the standard, but there was a time when 24 hour chime clocks were prevalent. One type of chime clock even used "Roman Striking", a high tone and a low tone to tell the time, instead of the traditional count of chimes to determine the time of day. For instance, the hour of four is represented by one high tone followed by a low tone, whereas the eleventh hour would be two low tones followed by one high tone. Chime wall clocks, grandfather clocks (click pic to enlarge) give us more than home decor and telling the time, they give as a sense of history, nostalgia, and family ties. Find just the chime clock that does it all for you. There's great selection and value to be found, by visiting WindSongWindChimes.com.