Tower Clocks

Tower Clocks and their design are important to our customers. At TowerClocks USA, we realize that high-quality, carefully designed and manufactured tower clocks is much more than just a timepiece. It's an investment in the cultural beauty of an architectural project that will provide service to a community for generations. That's why we use only the finest materials to build our clocks, and we never sacrifice quality in order to win lowest-bid projects. Unlike some cheaper alternatives, our clock movements are designed using stainless steel, brass and/or bronze gears, for durability and long-term accuracy.

TowerClocks USA's goal is to build long-term relationships with our clients, and that starts with a focus on quality. Not only does this save money by avoiding repeated maintenance and repairs, it helps protect the aesthetic value of the investment, as well as the professional reputation of the architects and designers who select our fine tower clocks.

The History of Tower Clocks

Lord Grimthorpe, who designed the Westminster Tower Clock and Big Ben, wrote a 1903 book called “Clocks, Watches, & Bells for Public Purposes” that subsequently went through eight editions with numerous reprintings of each edition, with the most recent edition published in 1975. Lord Grimthorpe was an attorney, architect, and president of the British Horological Institute for 35 years. Although he is often considered an amateur horologist, he designed over forty tower clocks. He was president of the British Horological Institute for 35 years. He was, in fact one of the very few men who could speak with authority on tower clock design, and bell design.

The Westminster Tower Clock is by far the largest clock in the world. Each face is 28 feet in diameter, each minute hand, built t by Grimthorpe with a special design, weighs 225 pounds. Movement specifications required that it would strike each successive hour with no more than 1 second variance in time. To meet the stringent specification, Grimthorpe designed the very clever double three-legged gravity escapement. In addition to his work on tower clocks, Grimthorpe also experimented with many bell designs and the composition of bell metal.

About Horology

According to Wikipedia, “horology is the study of the science and art of timekeeping devices. Clocks, watches, and chronometers are examples of instruments used to measure time. orology has a long history and there are many museums and several specializd libraries devoted to the subject. An example is the Royal Greenwich Observatory, which is also the source of the Prime Meridian (longitude 0° 0' 0"), and the home of the first marine timekeepers accurate enough to determine longitude (made by John Harrison). The two leading specialised horological museums in North America are the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, PA. and the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut. People interested in horology are called horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatus (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as aficionados and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organisations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies.”

About our Tower Clocks

While most of our timepieces are custom designed and manufactured, we also offer a set of standard clock styles.

Please call us at 1-800-849-6670 to discuss your project and how we can partner with you to build a fine tower clock of exceptional beauty and quality.

On one recent clock commission, a 6' clock dial was made of stainless steel with a black background and gold leaf numerals. High quality low voltage incandescent lighting placed on the hands and at the outer limit of each numeral transforms the clock for a beautiful evening viewing effect. Thank you for your interest in TowerClocks USA's Tower Clocks. 

Clock Dial-Hand Styles Selector

Typical Clock Mountings