Clock Repair And Servicing In Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester and surrounding areas

Fast, Polite & Competitively Priced Clock Repair.

URGENT (TO ME!) NEWS. THIS NEWS SECTION IS IN RED SO ALL THE IMMEDIATELY USEFUL INFORMATION FOR YOU IS ABOUT 4 OR SO PARARGRAPHS DOWN.

THIS IS IPORTANT – HOW TO CONTACT ME… You may have experienced a lack of response to emails. This is because I have spent the last 6 weeks finding and moving premises. When the business was a one man band with drum, harmonica, and a monkey collecting money in a hat this was fine. Now have two clock engineers, a driver for larger clocks and a general muscle and enthusiasm worker. All as important as the next, myself included.

This does however mean that we just dont have the time to answer or comment or “one question….” enquires. We are essentailly stopping the provision of email advice and response. If you want you clock fixed and need to get a conversation started about how much this may cost, the timescale and options on the fix, then, RING US. Even better text us or whatsapp us yuor enquiry.

This sorts everything out. You get to talk to me and go through a diagnoisis, arrange further action if required and you get a much much quicker response.

Emails, because Ive arranged this without really thinking my business would grow at such a rate, just dont work for anyone. If you send me an email with an enquiry I have to open it, consider its contents, ask questions, make a basic diagonosis and reply. Having timed this it takes as astonishing 13 minutes per email. I receive around 10-30 emails a day asking for help. If you work this back this leaves me the nights to do my work and the days in which to answer emails. Clearly not viable as a business. Im really approachable, you are welcome to visit by appointment and you will always always get good advice on costs and even value of your clock. Just ring me on 07462 269 529.

The existing opening hours, on review, simply restricts my flexibility. From now on you can COME AND SEE ME BY APPOINTMENT between  11.00am and 3pm any day Monday to Friday 10.30 to 3.pm. I have found, what with the change to zero hour contracts, elderly customers for whom Saturday is often less convenient,  the worlds hours are changing to a flex economy. So to adapt to these rapidly changing profile of peoples lives and hours I have made the following changes to keep up with modern work patterns and time availabiity. 

So these are the changes. If you think you have a better idea on how I run things I would be very interested to hear your comments. Im not here for me, Im here for you. There is no point in making changes that dont benefit all so your feedback is appreciated. Whatsapp me on 07462 269529:

  1. A change of address to a local industrial estate that features execellent parking and is specifically designed with its own loading bay and flat bed trolleys. It is also particularly secure with a reception, good CCTV system and brilliantly helpful staff employed Directly by Titan. Titan are a well resourcred and professionally run national brand that offer me, and other small engineering companies, a really good service. No greedy landlords and no “out in 5 weeks” type surprises.
  2. We now provide a true pickup and delivery service for large clocks. We are operating this in the home counties at the moment. The pricing of the service (typically for grandfather clock) is unlikely to be less than £300 for point to point transport. If its Devon to Glasgow (or similar) then expect that price to double. If it is a local run e.g. 20 miles, then you might go to £250, however, as you can see from that comparison, its not cheap at the beginning of the prices. The point is some people need this. If they hire “a man with a van” for the job its highly likely the person you hire will not know how to do that job properly, because they will be half the price. If you choose the half price “other supplier”. We always bring two as these clocks cant really be transported safely by one person.

Braintree Clock Repairs is a decade old business with an excellent reputation and an immaculate set of hundreds, if not thousands or happy customers. I am happy to say that we count the famous and wealthy among our customers and that I genuinely believe if you approached any of my clients they woud give you excellent feedback. Please bear with us while we re-organise our setup to new, better and larger  facilities. Our move is not volountary – we are being pressured into it. That said, every problem tends to be an opportunity in disguise. I think that this forced move may be the best thing thats every happened to us so keep the faith, look forward to increased capacity and availablity, and just stick with us. We will not betray your confidence in us.

Strength and honour to you all. Thank you.

To find out where we are click HERE to go to the contact page. Or just ring me on 07462 269 529. I can give good quick good advice

ONE LAST THING on “NEWS”….Toms Antique Centre is still running. Pop in for a browse, a sale (in either direction!) and some really odd and intresting stock. Interesting things whith character. I bought a pair of or originally leather holstered new york 1060’s handcuffs with keys. He had three pairs and I wish I had bought all three. I bought one pair, rung him later to take the other two, and they had sold. For £30 a unit. These things are worth three times that and Im not selling them. Really good stuff from an antiques dealer who both runs a professional online auction and finds the time to go and spend his evenings finding good stock for you!. Highly recomended. I have had some such brilliant stuff off Tom, including classic 1960’s are glass by one of the master craftsmen of his era, rare rock and mineral samples and loads and loads of small well priced items that have left me with a smile on my face and are all on display.  

Quick basics facts about us.

We run a full clock repair service for all types of clocks. Thats what we do between Tuesday and Friday. On Monday I dont take calls but do not “work” on Sunday and Monday.

We are now doing smaller jobs by appointment rather than on Saturdays when we will be closed henceforth. this includes:

  • Refiting a slipped chain on a cuckoo clock (we specialise is cuckoo clocks but do almost all other types too)
  • Fitting a new quartz movement (the 60mm square AA battery ones)
  • Explaining to a new owner of an inherited clock how they get it working and pointing out (and resolving) minor wear issues.

I dont sell spare parts unless I have them in abundance but if you need a couple of pins, some new hand blanks, or basic time keeping adjustments then we can probably help. For example, today Ive had in a cuckoo clock with a slipped chain at 10.40am and I fixed it in 4 minutes and didnt even bother charging. We are not greedy and take tremendous pride in what we do.

Another chap came in for a properly diagonosed quote which I would have normally charged £20 for but then the chap said “look just to everything and bill me because you clearly know about this problem and Im here, your here, the money is reasonable and Id sooner just leave it with you rather than pay for goodness knows how much”.

If you read my blog you will get to know me and understand that pricing is dependent on job, but more importantly, on a phone call I can generally diagnose what is required accurately which means no unexpected costs.

We (me and my poffessional partners) repair and restore all types of mechanical and electric clock from your Grandmothers kitchen wall clock, right through to a 17th century Bracket clock.

We have an excellent reputation and consistently good reviews. This is because we love clocks. The company comprises of me (Justin Holt) and my son (who who does less these days but has been partially replaced by already experienced experts with outstanding experience). I do most of the cosmetic the difficult cosmetic / mechanical fixes e.g. grandfather clock face damage or clock refurb, but we are mainly engineering which is adjusting or making new components to specific clocks requirements. This icludes fine wrist watch work and platform escapments of the the type found on carriange clocks.

Some jobs are pure engineering, for instance, smashed dead manufacturer watches, and others are cosmetic. For instance, I have repaired a white faced grandfather clock with a 6 inch trench dug into it with a big scredriver (dont DIY clocks unless you are prepared to dispose of them when its all gone horribly wrong and a quote from me sounds like my telephone number).

I am not here to brag, but I am here to explain to you what my companies capabiliies are. The fix on that damaged enamel faced grandfather became to be known as the “Grand Canyon” repair in the workshop.

The end result was so good they could not find the scratch afterwards. 30 hours of work and the client could not find traces of the original damage. Im not sure anyone would have taken it on other than me and my partner, and if they had I think that the price would have come in at £2,200. We completed the job for under £1500. Still a lot of money, and probably the price of the clock, but the point here is that we took it on and did it.

I matched the colour along the whole of the trench and the customer could simply not find the damage he had given us the clock with. It cost, I think, including a good service, around £1200 plus parts. Its a guess based on averages. We dont have an office administrator. Eveything we do is hands on and direct customer contact. That siad, we do have a reception where clocks can be dropped off should I have been called away and my partner is unavailable..

All our reviews are real. If you read them you will be able to tell that. My best advice on wether we are “right for you” is to read the testimonials on google in relation to your clock type.

Visiting the workshop….

Everyone is welcome to turn up BY APPOINTMENT between Tues to Friday – 11.00 to 3pm. This. for me, is the best part of the week because I get to talk to the the customer about the problem they are having. With the clock infront of me and us both looking at it stripped down a bit. In this situation its easy for me to explain what the problem is and how we would approach the fix and give what has proven to be pretty accurate costings.

We are, among other things, the warranty repair centre for Loetscher cuckoo clocks Switzerland and also have a specialisation in Grandfather and, oddly, 20th century electric clocks.

We are the only repairer who have a sort of side focus on Metamec clocks simply because we love them and it was a local company to us just before it collapsed in the 80s recession. Thats where most of our 20th century clocks come from and where we can confidentally quote a fixed price without any diagnositics. If you like Metamecs then spend your first £50 odd on the metamec bible (just type in “metamec dereham by clifford” to google and it will point you towards the book on Amazon). I make a big deal about our Metamec work simply because… we just like them and have converted almost all of them to a more robust set of mechanics. Our aim in this is to leave the look of the clock intact but also get it to tell the time properly with standardised components.

Most of the clocks we repair have a high sentimental value to their owners and are being repaired for that reason as opposed to any consideration of value or age. This means I undertake a lot of clocks from the turn of the last century through to the late 20th or even 21st century.

We are partiuclarly experienced at Cuckoo Clocks and are one of very few organisations offering a comprehensive restoration and repair service for all manufacturers, ancient or modern!.

A brief summary of services include (click the links for more information):

Grandfather Clock Repair and Service

Cuckoo Clock Repairs – All ages and types and munufacturers including Loetscher for which we are the UK service centre.

Mantle Clock and Wall Clock repair including 20th Century Electric \ Quartz

Cabled and battery wall clocks – Modern or Vintage –  Smiths / Bentima / Metamec, etc.

Carriage Clock Repair & Service

Vienesse Regulator Repair and Service

400 day anniversary suspension clocks – please ring for details about this – every job needs assessing carefully.

Clock Restoration – mechanical & cosmetic

Please click on the icons below to find out more about some of the types of clocks I repair in addition to mantle, wall and alarm clocks. Alternatively use the menu at the top of the page to find the information you need.

I am very approachable and provide a polite and friendly and informative service so please do feel free to ring or alternatively email or text/call me on 07462 269529. I am available on the phone between 9am – 7pm, 6 days a week for enquiries and booking (Monday – Saturday).

The normal course of things is that I can provide an estimate on costs via a telephone and then visit to have a good look at the problem or requirement. I am an enthusiast and can usually date most clocks to within a decade or two. I always enjoy having a good look at a grandfather clocks and provide advice on how to use the internet to get an idea of value range – the trick of course is to know what you actually have, how it was made, by whom and when. I can usually give you 2 or 3 of those answers!.

Theres more about the way I work and what I do further on down this page or you could click straight through to pricing or reviews on the icons below.

Google_Reviews_Pricing Clock_Repair_Pricing

Click on the sections below for a more in depth description of Grandfather, Cuckoo, Regualor, and carriage clock repair. Mantle and wall clocks probably should have had their own section on this site but its too larger subject (just assume I can fix it!).

Grandfather_Clock_Repair_Button.fwGrandfather Clock Repair or Service

I provide a complete mechanical servicing and repair service for grandfather clocks of all ages. I can also source and replace most parts.

For the most part grandfather clocks that have stopped or no longer keep good time tend to have a lot of grime on the cogs and more…

Cuckoo_Clock_Repair_Button.fwCuckoo Clock Repair or Service

If you’ve got a broken cuckoo of whatever age click the link to the whole of this article as Ive tried to give you some “home fix” info and given the real low down on whats involved in fixing these clocks and what the costs are likely to be. We, among other commitments are the service arm for www.cuckoocollections.co.uk and UK Service Centre for Loetscher Swiss Cuckoo clocks. We restore and service all types and ages of cuckoo clock more..

Carriage_Clock_Repair_Button.fw

Carriage Clock Repair or Servicing

I provide repairs for all types of mechanical (or electric!) carriage clocks. Almost all repairs are in fact services on these items, as they rarely experience physical damage or wear. The problem is for the most part is associated with the finer cogs at the top of the clock and their linkage to more…

Viennese_Regulator_Clock_Repair_Button.fw

Vienesse Regulator Clock Repair or Service

I repair all types of wall clock but am very often asked to repair a regulator style clock. These come in all shapes and sizes. They can be spring driven pendulum units or powered by one or more weights (more normally one).

If you have bought one of these clocks and you are stuggling to get it to work consistently you would not be alone!. Many of my customers more…

 facelogo200About Braintree Clock Repairs

Click to phone now: 07462 269529

email link: admin@braintreeclockrepairs.co.uk

Please can you bring your clock to me at the NEW ADDRESS (click here)

I repair all types of every day and antique clocks as well as offering a service for full restorations and, occasionally, clocks for sale either on behalf of customers or by way of workshop restorations I have completed. I offer repairs on any clock regardless or the clocks age or style so please don’t feel your clock has to be an antique or particularly valuable merit or justify repair. Services and Prices are much more reasonable than you might think, from me at least!. Popular services include:

My customers are varied and I could be replacing a simple quartz movement from the 1970’s through to a full service on an 17/18th century Grandfather clock or a carriage clock repair and clean.

A lot of what I end up doing is strip down, component repair and cleaning work. I frequently strip down a movement to its cogs and even inner springs if a clean is required. If you would like to see what that involves please follow this link to see a breakdown of how its done.

Free estimates by phone, text or Whatsapp.

You can call me on 07462 269529 between 9am and 7pm Monday to Friday. If you dont know whats wrong with your clock I can usually ask you a few questions that will get to the bottom of things fundementally and provide a broad estimate of the likely work required.

restorationsJPGBraintree Antiques Centre at the Bocking arts theatre.

As those who have read the “NEWS” post at the top of this page you will understand Ive moved about 3 miles away. My new facilities are larger, more secure, has a loading bay and a receptionist. So Im not at The Antiques Centre.

CLICK HERE TO FIND MY NEW ADDRESS:

Thanks for Visiting.

N.B. Thank you to all my excellent friends for checking in with me to make sure Im not on the Cancer or Ebola Ward. Most customers are postal, we operate globally now – I cant even believe it.

Thats all I have time for in terms of updates and news so please forgive spelling mistakes and gramar. No doubt John will be coming to see me with his red pen and schoolmasters face on.

Justin – Braintree Clock Repairs