Nautical Clocks

Nautical clocks, especial those made by Howard Miller, Seth Thomas or Weems and Plath are especially sought after antique collectible clocks. Many are solid brass and include multiple dials. Some have separate faces mounted on one base, and the functions include barometers and thermometers mostly.

Old maritime clocks are also popular in home décor and are often featured on decorating shows. If you're thinking of adding a nautical clock to your collection, look on eBay for the cheapest prices.

One clock making firm that has long been trusted for the manufacture of very attractive and high functioning nautical timepieces is the Chelsea Clock Company. Since 1897, Chelsea Clock has grown to be one of the oldest and biggest American clock making companies. In fact it is one of the few companies that still manufactures clocks in the United States period. Chelsea`s clocks are considered the gold standard of timepieces by many esteemed institutions including the White House and the US Navy.

The beginnings of Chelsea Clock arise from the great tradition of Northeast clock making workshops. This was a period in the history of the clock making industry that was marked with turbulence, change, exploration, and risk that mirrored those same aspects in the US itself.
In 1842, an apprentice of the nephew of the famed Simon Willard, named Edward Howard formed a small clock workshop named the E. Howard Clock Company. Howard`s apprentice Joseph Eastman, in turn when on to open his own firm called the Eastman Clock Company. This shop, while it creating some inventive timepieces, went bankrupt after trying to expand into a new factory too quickly. Luckily that factory was purchased by a consortium of businessmen and became the Chelsea Clock Company.

After a period of experimentation into different product lines, the company flourished under the guidance of Charles Pearson who as one if it`s original founders. Chelsea Clock`s reputation grew to such an extent that it went on to become the clock supplier of choice for such august corporations as Rolls Royce, Packard, and Studebaker. The real coup came in the early 1900`s when the US Navy began ordering large shipments of nautical clocks for its fleets and the US Treasury ordered 100 clocks for it`s offices nationwide.