Customer Reviews

Seiko Mantle Clock Wooden Case Floral Accents Pendulum

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had hoped $135 would provide more than tinny chimes that sound like a child's toy. I bought it from Princeton Watches because they provided 2-day shipping for $3. Their service was first-rate.

Upside:

1. Nice appearance.
2. Quiet operation. It does not have that annoying and loud clicking sound you get from cheap clocks. You can forget it's there until chime time.
3. Pendulum swings.
4. Battery ("C") included.
5. Quartz accuracy.
6. Adjustable volume, in theory.

Downside:

1. Sound is tinny, almost like a cracked speaker. If you're looking for the rich, deep tones of real chimes, keep looking. This is my major disappointment. I once had a set of Westminster wind chimes that were superior to this.

2. Night silencing options minimal, and instructions for setting it are wrong. You can turn the chimes off between 11 PM and 6 AM. If you want to sleep undisturbed until 7 AM, you will have to turn the clock around before going to bed, remove the back panel, turn the sound off (if you can get the control dial to move), then turn it back on when you get up in the morning. There is no option for setting silent times. Take it or leave it. I guess the other option is you could put it out with the cat each night.

3. Night silencing instructions are wrong in the instruction manual. There is a three-position switch for silencing. One position is chimes "on" all the time, pretty self-explanatory. The manual instructions for turning sound off at night say this:

"If it is now morning, slide the switch to the 'AM' position. This will set the nighttime silencer mechanism."

"If it is now evening, slide the switch to the 'PM' position. This will set the nighttime silencer mechanism."

It was evening when I set mine so I selected the "PM position. After 11 PM, the chimes were still sounding, so I changed it to the "AM" position. It now works as designed.

4. The volume control is supposed to turn. So far I have not been able to turn it up or down. It feels like the amount of force required to turn it would damage the mechanism.

5. The pendulum swings too fast for my taste. It does approximately 90 full swings per minute and obviously has nothing to do with the time-keeping mechanism. I suppose I like a chime clock to have a rather dignified appearance, and this makes it look almost frenetic. This kind of timepiece shouldn't emulate a fast-cut music video.

6. Instructions do not explain that the clock back panel must be removed to access the controls. They expect you'll just figure it out on your own.

Bottom line:

At $135, someone is making a lot of money on this. A wooden box, a piece of glass, a clockface and a quartz timing mechanism linked to a cheap speaker surely can't cost more than $10 to produce. A fair retail price for this would be closer to $40, in my opinion.

Anyway, if you have a lot of money, sleep soundly and have a tin ear, this product may be just right for you.