General Queries
By appointment only. Please make an appointment on the Contact Us page.
By appointment only. Please contact us for more information.
We are outside the centre of Guildford, which is about 30 miles south of London, on the A3. Parking is available in front of the shop. There is a map on the contact us page.
Sales Queries
Our membership of the British Antique Dealers’ Association is a guarantee of the quality of our stock and our service. BADA members are expertly vetted and must adhere to a code of conduct that guarantees, among other things, a full refund if the item is later found not to be as described. For further information, please visit www.bada.org. We are also members of the British Horological Institute and of CINOA.The owner, Michael Tooke, was apprenticed into the trade in 1958, has been dealing in antique clocks since he established Horological Workshops in 1968, serves on the vetting committee for many major antiques fairs and is a member of the Clockmakers Company.
All prices stated include VAT at 20%, which applies to goods sold to customers within the UK and the EU. Pre-vat prices are not shown becasue antiques are sold on a special margin scheme in which VAT is charged on the profit only. If the item is shipped directly to you overseas then you pay the amount less VAT. If you are exporting it yourself, then we will refund the VAT once we receive proof the item has left the country.
We do not generally accept credit card payment over the phone or internet, especially from new customers. We believe it is important to see an item ‘in the flesh’ in order to be fully satisfied with a purchase. Where this is not possible we will of course consider remote payment of some kind, such as BACS or bank transfer. In any case we will require more than a cleared credit card number before we deliver a clock. We are proud of all our clocks and we want to make sure that they go to a good home.
All our clocks and barometers are covered by our one year guarantee against mechanical problems. This is in addition to the guarantees that come as a result of our BADA membership.
For longcase clocks, the price includes delivery and setup within England and Wales.
Certainly, although there will be an additional cost. We have an established relationship with a shipping company we trust, so you can be assured that your clock will be properly packed and handled throughout its journey.
Repairs and Valuations queries
Our own craftsmen specialize in repair and restoration of all kinds of antique clock movements. We can also take care of every other aspect of your clock through a network of specialists selected for their expertise in skills such as:
- Case repair and restoration
- Dial painting
- Glass cutting
- Casting
- Wheel Cutting
- Porcelain panel restoration
- Engraving
- Lacquer work
- Gilding
We give free estimates on all clocks that are brought to us for repair. However, we do not give repair estimates without first carefully examining the clock in question. We cannot give estimates just from pictures or descriptions, as most mechanical problems can only be diagnosed by handling the clock itself. Further problems that are encountered once the clock has been stripped down cannot be ignored so it is important that both you and we know exactly what work is needed before the job is started. The most we can say here is that we currently charge £40 per hour plus materials.
We will gladly give our honest opinion on whether a repair is financially justified but this does not constitute a valuation. In any case there is often a difference between what a clock might fetch if completely repaired, and what it would cost to replace, particularly with clocks made after 1900.
Our standard charge is 1% of the value, with a minimum charge of £50 plus VAT. Especially valuable items or large collections will be priced by negotiation.
We regret that we cannot give insurance valuations from pictures or descriptions.