North Coast Imports, Inc.

We just got an update from our news correspondent covering the beat in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kellogg's is starting a new advertising campaign called, "It's Morning Somewhere!" Part of their new promotion involves the construction of the next World's Largest Cuckoo Clock. They're planning a cuckoo clock that will be 66-feet tall and 28-feet wide and is being considered for a Guinness World Records® Record. From the Kellogg's website : The Kellogg's® Crunchy Nut™ cuckoo clock will feature a rich, dark-wood facade and many of the traditional elements of a cuckoo clock, including an outer face with Roman numerals, a shingled roof with eaves and doors from which the Kellogg's® Crunchy Nut™ cuckoo clock character will emerge. Additional elements include decorative accoutrements, such as tree leaves and wood branches, pine-cone-shaped weights and a pendulum in the shape of a spoon. "To bring this iconic brand to the U.S., we wanted a symbol that ...

We were glad to see a great post on CLOCKS on Martha Stewart's website , by designer Kevin Sharkey. His blog post includes a great idea of stenciling a clock directly on his wall: He also has some pictures of a few cuckoo clocks, some are almost as interesting as our /design series...

Embroidery and knitting are experiencing a resurgence in popularity - especially among young people. We were glad to see that the cuckoo clock theme is included in this fun! It would be great to see something with a real cuckoo clock movement. If you're out there crafters, let us know if you'll accept the challenge! Make a knitted or embroidered, or otherwise stitched cuckoo with a bird that comes out and calls. [via Little Dear Tracks ]

"Memento Mori" is a reminder of mortality. Our " All Are Mine " clock is an excellent modern example that is the result of a long tradition of clockmaker artisans who remind us that life is short, and all things must pass. This clock tells us a story. In the upper left part of the clock, you'll see a rich man (with his bags of money and fine suit). Just above the 12:00 position, there is a carving of a king, and to his right there is a carved figure of a monk. Underneath the dial are carved representations of the young and the old; and at the bottom you can see the world. The clock bears the inscription, Alle sind mein , or "All Are Mine." Whether you are a rich person, royalty, a man of the church, young and old, all around the world, Death will eventually come to collect you. At the top, astride the foliott balance, the personification of the End of Life swings to collect his harvest. Along with my previous post , here are more very fine exam...

Here's a very interesting piece that recently sold at the Antiquorum Auctions . Perfect for all of you Steampunks and Goths, this piece is nearly 400 years old! This is a very interesting fusee with chain, verge escapement, and plain steel two-arm balance without spring. From the Watchismo Blog : During the first minute, the skull's expression seems to smile, the second minute it seems to laugh, the next appears to scream and finally, the jaws snap shut, as if the skull were trying to bite something. At the same time, one of the snakes slowly sinks back down into one of the eye sockets, while the other slowly comes out of the other eye, before retracting suddenly, as the first snake again springs out from its eye-socket. And to view the time, just open up the skull cap! It sold recently for $135,000. Designed & built in 1610 by Nicolaus Schmidt der Junger (Augsburg, Germany) as a skull set on two crossed shinbones and mounted on a gilt brass tripod, the hinged skull cap (r...

There's a charming story at the Springfield Illinois State Journal-Register . A very nice turn-of-the-Century Bahnhäusle hangs on the wall of its maker's grandson. From the State Journal-Register : Charles Neuner was a craftsman and jeweler who emigrated from Germany to Springfield permanently in 1905. His shop, Neuner’s Reliable Jewelers, (slogan: “Gifts That Last Will Always Be Remembered”) was at 124 N. Fifth St. [in Springfield] until his death in 1954. Back in Germany, Charles worked for a German clock company. He handmade a cuckoo clock that he brought with him to Springfield. The clock was on the wall of the home on North Second Street where Charles and his wife, Pauline, lived.

Nemo Gould does some beautiful and interesting work in automata. You can watch him document his creations on his blog. [Via target="_blank">Nemomatic]

Here's a nice watch going up on the block at Bonhams auction. Eternamatic: An 18ct gold automatic calendar wristwatch The signed silvered dial with applied gilt baton hour markers, gilt hands with sweep centre seconds hand and date aperture, 21-jewel Cal:1466U automatic movement, polished round case with screw on back, fitted associated leather strap, dial diameter 3.4cm. A nice, classic design, and very similar to our 1966 model, or our Yaroslavl model watches.

Here's a great post from Instructables on how to set the time and chime on an old w 1217 Hermle movement. This German-made movement was a pioneer in bringing a "real-sounding" chime to a quartz movement. If your older clock has one of these movements, and it doesn't work, it's more cost-effective to replace it with a more modern mechanism. But, if you just need to set it, here are some good step-by-step instructions on how to do so. From Instructables : Top left are the STOP and START buttons. Three knobs along the left side are also buttons. A knob in the center sets the analog hands. Upper right corner has the Make (Hermle) and Model# (1217) Lower right is the battery compartment. - The STOP button stops the analog movement and resets all digital settings. - The START button begins keeping time after you're done setting the clock. - Knob 1 sets the time in the digital portion of the clock. Turn the knob to the number you wish to set and press it until you...

Should be interesting to any gearhead:

Have you heard about Boilerplate ? A fantastic historical discovery has been made! From Boilerplate's website : Boilerplate was a mechanical man developed by Professor Archibald Campion during the 1880s and unveiled at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Built in a small Chicago laboratory, Boilerplate was a prototype soldier built for "preventing the deaths of men in the conflicts of nations". Although it was the only such prototype, Boilerplate was eventually able to exercise its proposed function in several combat actions. Boilerplate embarked on a series of expeditions to demonstrate its abilities, the most ambitious being a voyage to Antarctica. Boilerplate is one of history's great ironies, a technological milestone that remains largely unknown. Note: Although we are reasonably sure that (overall) this blog is pretty factual, we definitely make no guarantees on this particular post :)

There's a great rundown of historical automata at Dark Roasted Blend . We've pictured many of these great devices on this blog before. I was glad to see the pooping duck, which I had previously only read about in Tom Standage's delightful book . [via Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik ]

Bill Hammack, the Engineer Guy, gives us a great video on how a quartz movement works: [via Makezine ]

This post is a bit late, but is interesting enough to read anyway. J. Edwards at Tick Talk gives a nice history of the tradition of dropping the ball on New Year's Eve. Here is an excerpt: Although it’s arguably the most famous of ball drops, the concept of dropping a ball from a pinnacle point in the city to mark a precise point in time isn’t a Times Square first. The practice dates back almost 100 years earlier than the first Times Square ball drop. Initially conceived by Robert Wauchope, of England, time balls were used to synchronize the deck watches and ship chronometers of Navy vessels, who depended on accurate timekeepers to help them navigate longitudinally. Learn more about methods to discover Longitude on our blog here or on our / museum website

One of the great things about collecting clocks is that you have an artifact of history - in this way, you can participate in some of the most important developments in the human experience. This blog has always focused on timekeeping, as well as mechanical musical devices and automata, but I wanted to take the space of a short post to pass on this image. It struck me as a ghostly presence, a window into history. This is a photograph of Boulevard du Temple in Paris was made in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, inventor of the daguerreotype process of photography. It is likely the first photograph of a human being. Just think of it - 1838 - well before the American Civil War, well before the American transcontinental railroad... it's hard to imagine what life was like at that time, so it's a real treat to have an actual photograph. [via designcrave.com ]

We've been busy updating our website again. With so many new creations it's hard to keep up! Stop by our YouTube channel to see lots more videos of our fine watches. We've also got new detail pictures of the watches, for example: Also, as any true artist is likely to do, our carver Christophe has slightly changed the beautiful design of the very popular Long Bahnhäusle. Check out the new pictures and movie here. If you don't already own one of these fine pieces, now would be a great time to invest in one. They are made in very limited production and each is a masterpiece.

Thanks to Juan Pablo Cambariere's comment we have a new video of his exhibition of Automata: Siete Ejercicios Básicos from Juan Pablo Cambariere on Vimeo .

The following is a diagram of the Hermle mechanism w0340. This depicts the top of the movement, around the balance wheel and escapement. Turn the Regulating spindle in very small increments (less than 1/16th of a turn) to adjust the timekeeping. Turning the spindle clockwise will slow the clock down, counter-clockwise will speed the clock up. Be sure to reset the hands each time you make an adjustment. Our Sternreiter Brahms tambour and Sloan bracket clocks are equipped with a manual shut-off lever for the chimes.