I have been an avid collector of clocks for over twenty years.  I 
started in high school building a grandmother clock.  I then began
collecting old furniture and really started to appreciate the skill 
involved in the construction of them.  I make my living repairing
electronics and realize most pieces only last ten to twenty years
at most before they become landfill.  However clocks can be a 
hundred years old and still function for the purpose for which they
were originally intended.  If properly restored there is no doubt 
they could be running for another hundred years.
      
       By chance I repaired a watch timing machine for a retired watch
maker and asked him if he could repair a couple of clocks for me.  He
said to come by Monday to see how to do the repairs.  Since this
chance encounter I have been going Mondays now for the last eight
years!  He is European trained from Holland and went through the
apprenticeship program that they once had there.  He was fortunate
to have had some very skilled teachers and to go to a school which
taught clock and watch repair.  After the second world war he and 
his boss set up a manufacturing plant for Dutch style clocks for which
he designed the movements.  His skill level is very high and he can
make anything work from almost nothing!  His skill in fixing cylinder
watches and platforms is an art which is really lost.  I feel extremely
fortunate to have found someone such as this from which to learn 
these skills.

       So far of the few hundred clocks I have repaired, I 've not turned
down a single one because of not being able to fix it.  I started clock
restoration not for others, but to improve my own collection.  But as
the clocks I desire have become more expensive and the need to 
find clocks that are more difficult to repair (in order to improve my
skills), I have started to repair clocks for others.  I like to think of my 
repairs and sales as a hobby and not a business, for I would like to
keep the element of fun in it.  I spend many hours on all restorations
and if I was in business it would be difficult to charge enough, but as
a hobby the money is fine.  Also I like to think if the restoration is
done well and that the clock looks good and functions well, there is a 
good chance that it will be around for the next hundred years if 
properly maintained.

       As to my own collection, I like French clocks, both marble and 
wood.  I find they are the last ones that were somewhat handmade
and somewhat machine made.  They represent the last of the times
when clocks were assembled not as mass production of today's 
standards, but of the one at a time philosophy of yesteryear.  The
price of these clocks, I believe, are still relatively low.  I like the 
quality of the earlier German chiming clocks from the 1910's to the
1940's, for the sound of the Westminster chimes are second to none.
Weight driven clocks, German or Austrian, with a power of only three
and a half pounds are also very good.  They wear very little and are
excellent timekeepers even if the cases are not always a total work
of art.  American clocks, while not a high quality piece , have the
advantage of good engineering and will take a lot of wear and abuse
and still keep on ticking.  They are also not very fussy as to how they
are set up.

       In conclusion, if you desire a restoration or wish to purchase a
clock from me, you can be assured it will be repaired well, will look
good, and will easily become an heirloom or treasured family 
possession for a long time to come.  I do not just patch one up and
see if it goes, but try to do the best job possible and take pride in a
job well done!

       E-mail or call if you have any questions or if you desire a 
particular clock.


       Brian Zirk


P. S.  If you are in the Campbell River area, I have several clocks
          for sale at Willow Point Old and New.  If you enjoy clocks, I 
          could also give you a chance to see the ones in my collection.

NOTE: I have started to collect barometers so if willing to sell 
or trade a better quality mercury wheel , stick or cistern or
aneroid barometer / clock combination , let me know.
Any condition or parts will be considered.
thanks
Brian