Lantern clocks

Buying or selling clocks on a commission basis

Brian and Joy Loomes

SELLING. We also offer a service to sell your clock for you on a commission basis of 10% of the agreed selling price. Any such clock currently available will be illustrated on this page.

BUYING. If you are a potential buyer, then send us details by email of what you are looking for - clocks by a maker or of a certain surname, or made in a certain town or village, or clocks by a certain clock-making ancestor. This is a search service we have operated for fifty two years now.

FEE. This service costs nothing until and unless we find a clock you decide to buy, then we charge you 10% of the purchase price, only charged if a sale takes place. It costs nothing to have YOUR details on our list.

NEGOTIATION. We put the seller and buyer in direct touch with each other to negotiate a sale directly. Or we can do that if you prefer. We will advise on appropriate prices if requested. Our commission is 10% of the final agreed price.

FINDING A CLOCK AT AUCTION. Additionally we run a search service to find such a clock for you at auction. A buyer's premium is charged to all buyers by the auction house. This can be as low as 10% or as high as 25%. Vat is added to the premium itself. The commission fee you would owe me (10%) would be based on that total auction price – but only if you actually buy the clock.

BRITISH CLOCKS ONLY. This service applies to British antique clocks.

CONTACT. I need to have an instant means of contacting you. Email me via our Contact Box and I will send you my email address. Phone numbers at home and at work, addresses, especially all email addresses. The latter are essential as I need to email you images. I also need to be advised if you change any of these.

RESTORATION/CARRIAGE/SHIPPING. If the clock needs restoration work I can put you in touch with a carrier/restorer or, in the case of overseas clients, an experienced packer/shipper.

GENUINENESS. Many clocks have been seriously altered since new, sometimes to the point where they are no longer considered genuine enough to be desirable. We can always advise on this aspect.

VALUE. The difficulty for you is knowing what the clock is worth on the open market. This is what I do for a living and I will advise you on that aspect. Some buyers might be keen to buy a clock by an ancestor, especially if it has taken years to locate one, even if it runs to a higher price than its regular value in the market at large. This is one possibility, but you, as the buyer, still need to know its true market value, which I will be able to assess for you.

A FEW EXAMPLES SOLD RECENTLY FOR CLIENTS

A unique lantern clock with original balance escapement by Ahasuerus Fromanteel of London.

A rare Elizabethan sundial by Iaack Symmes of London.

A Civil War period lantern clock by Henricus Smith of London, discovered in France.

Copyright © 2013 Brian Loomes