Online Museum

We're slowly adding to our online Museum! This is a photo, video, and descriptive website dedicated to the history of Horology and significant mechanical devices. Some of the clocks are part of the North Coast Imports collection and are available for sale, and some of the pieces are owned by our friends. We just wanted to take an opportunity to make the pictures and information on these fine clocks and watches available to the general public. Check back often, and you'll see the online virtual collection grow all of the time!

Check it out at www.NorthCoastImports.com/museum

Another NEW Watch!

We're pleased to present another fine NEW watch from CCCP.

This is the 1973 model with its fresh design which is somehow both modern and retro:



It also features a glass back, giving you a view of the beautiful and dynamic mechanism.

NEW MODEL

We are please to introduce a NEW MODEL!

This delightful Bavarian Chalet is our newest cuckoo clock from Sternreiter. It's full of color and good humor - a perfect gift for someone to remember you by! It instantly recalls the lighthearted ways of Southern Germany, depicting a typical Bavarian-style chalet. The flowers are hand painted, and there are lots of excellent woodcut details. AND it plays music! It's a perfect purchase this holiday season. Don't miss out!



...and if you like this clock, be sure to check out the similar, but more elaborate eight-day version:

Barnacle-covered 300-year-old pocket watch

Via Make

...comes this amazing video of an x-ray trip through a barnacle-encrusted lump from a 17th century shipwreck. It reveals the workings of a very sophisticated, gorgeous watchwork mechanism inside. The researchers (from National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh) who used this x-ray technology are excited about the prospects of using it on future, similarly encrusted underwater finds.

Via Nature:

The watch was found on a wreck believed to be the Swan — a small warship that sank off the west coast of Scotland during the English Civil War. She formed part of Oliver Cromwell's forces that attacked the Royalist stronghold of Duart Castle in Mull, UK, but succumbed to a violent gale on 13 September 1653.

The resulting reconstruction of the watch shows plenty of decorative touches and exquisite attention to detail. The top and bottom plates are held together by square-section Egyptian tapered pillars, first used around 1640. Other parts of the mechanism are engraved with a floral design. The clockface itself is marked in Roman numerals with what appears to be a fleur de lys on each half-hour, and an English rose in the centre.

The researchers even found the maker's name. An engraving on the watch's top plate reads "Niccholas Higginson of Wesminster". Clockmakers' directories attest that Higginson was making watches in Chancery Lane and in Westminster, London, in the years before the Swan went down.

Prague Astronomical Clock

Here's a fantastic video of the 600th anniversary of the Prague Astronomical clock.

From The Long Now Blog:

BB reader Kerray says, “The people who worked on it are themacula.com, duber.cz and michalkotek.com, and the projection itself was done by avmedia.cz. Four months of work, 5000×1200 resolution, 2x Christie 18K HD projectors.” .

Fantastic! This is a must see. There are all kinds of symbolic visuals on the passage of time.

The 600 Years from the macula on Vimeo.

Another Update

Here's another one of our very popular models. We've just added new pictures and a video of this fine clock to our website!

More News From the Big Cuckoo Clock in Ohio

We've been keeping up on the latest news concerning our founder, and my Great Uncle Schleutermann's cuckoo clock, which he built for the Alpine Alpa restaurant in Ohio in 1972.

I'm go glad to see the dedicated folks in Sugar Creek, Ohio are restoring and re-installing the clock for all to see.



Be sure to contact them for more information:

For information or to make a donation, call (330) 852-9191 or send to GSDA Cuckoo Clock Fund, P.O. Box 165, Sugarcreek, OH 44681.

They are raffling off our very popular Sternreiter Kissing Couple clock to raise money for the endeavor.

Even More Movies...

(This model also has some NEW pics on our website - check it out!)



(We've blogged about this new option before. We are offering several of our cuckoo clocks with the option of authentic bone hands and wooden weight shells!)



(Also, more pictures available here!)



(...and more NEW pictures for this one too.)

Organ Clock!

Here's a great organ clock at one of our favorite museums in Triberg - the Heimatmuseum. There is even a zither player!

Still More Videos...

We're adding new photos and video footage every day. This way you can see more of the very fine details in our timepieces. Still, nothing compares to seeing them in person. Contact us to find a dealer in your area today!

More Videos

We love to provide video footage of all of our clocks online. Here are two more for your viewing pleasure!

New Watch

We're pleased to introduce a new watch that will be available at the end of the month.

Introducing the Space Light

Troubleshoot Your Cuckoo Clock

Here is an excellent video for troubleshooting your cuckoo clock. If your clock is not running and not keeping time please check this video out.

Remember that all wire bending and adjustments described in the video should be done VERY slightly. Clocks from North Coast Imports are always extensively tested and any adjustment you make should be to a very small amount.



Click Here for more helpful articles on the proper care and operation instructions of your lovely clock.

James Burke

Here's a snippet from one of our favorite television shows of all time:

A New Video of our "Aachen"

We're busy uploading new footage every day! Check out our beautiful and inexpensive Aachen clocks!

New Video

We're uploading new footage right now of our very popular and very special Long Bahnhäusle cuckoo clock.



Read more about the carver here.

Another Little Automaton

via Cabaret Mech Theather

New Picture, Old Favorite

For some reason, one of our most popular models has slipped through the cracks when we built our NEW website. The Brahms Tambour with quartz movement in American Cherry Finish is a lovely and very popular piece. It's classic lines fit in both traditional and up-to-date environments.

Check it out on our website:

How a Watch Works

Here's a great, old video that's definitely worth posting here. Hamilton Watch Company presented this in 1949.



[Via Makezine]

Organically-Shaped Gears

Here's something interesting in the world of gear cutting. The video is pretty self-explanatory.



[Via Makezine]

Museum Speelklok in Utrecht

The Museum Speelklok was on my list to visit on my last trip to Europe, but unfortunately we couldn't fit it in. We'll definitely try hard to make it next time! Here's a great video.



It looks like they have an outstanding collection of all things horological and mechanically musical!

Check out the violinola orchestrion!

Organ clocks of course...

Wow.

Your Automata fix...

Here's more cool stuff, courtesy of the Automata Blog...

Dates to about 1890, assembled by the firm of August Lasseur, who leased entertainment novelties such as this for public venues. Lasseur would maintain the machines, collect the revenues, etc., in exchange for leasing their space, much the same as is done today with vending machines.

Fitted with a 6-tune Paillard music box, it plays two songs on the drop of a coin. The internal rack of stereoscopic cards allows the viewer to see a 3-D image, which in this case is a naughty picture of a pretty girl. The rack slowly rotates, and another picture soon appears. Each coin drop shows about 4 pictures to the viewer, and when the music ends, so does the show.