Popularity of rare timepieces proves we love clock-watching

Eve Kelliher discovers what makes us tick as buyers from across the globe ensure Waterford's clock auction is a sellout success

Thomas Keighery, left, and right, clocks at the auction at RJ Keighery's Antiques, Waterford. Pictures: Chani Anderson

You’d think having worked in a deadline-driven world my entire adult life, I’d be a micromanager of minutes and that I’d slay every last second.

I wish. It’s only since reverting to analogue clocks two years ago that I’ve (tentatively) made friends with time.

Over the past 24 months (that’s 17,520 hours, or 1,051,200 minutes or 63,072,000 seconds), one of those old-school moonfaces has appeared on a wall of every room or space I use at home.

This is strangely reassuring. For me, anyway, seeing the hands move around the dial face makes moments much easier to track than my casting furtive glances at my cute chronometer's digital descendant on a computer screen or phone.

It also means I now chime with timepiece aficionados — people such as the late collector from the mid-west who visited counties across Ireland to acquire luxury and rare clocks and watches.

The latter would tick away contently in his three-bedroom property, companions on his and his family's voyage through life.

Some of the collection of clocks at the Waterford auction hosted by RJ Keighery Antiques.

He was keen for the collection that filled the semi-detached home to be sold in Waterford — which in turn is home to The Irish Museum of Time.

Rody Keighery.

Over 380 clocks went under the hammer at the city’s RJ Keighery Antiques on January 13, including 31 longcase clocks, more commonly known as “grandfather clocks”, plus 270 wall and mantel clocks and pocket watches. “When the family contacted us for us to consider hosting this auction, we were quite interested given that Waterford is the home to The Irish Museum of Time. It’s the perfect place to have a clock auction in the ‘Clock City’,” says auctioneer Rody Keighery. 

“We get a lot of footfall from The Irish Museum of Time, especially in the summer, so we have common ground.

The Irish Museum of Time is located in Waterford city. Picture: Patrick Browne

“What makes this auction interesting, is there are some very rare clocks and there are also some that are a lot more affordable and less rare. The late collector would have travelled the length and breadth of Ireland, collecting rare and interesting pieces for over 60 years.”

Thomas Keighery. Picture: Chani Anderson

As Ireland’s first large-scale clock auction, it drew interest from bidders globally as well as at home. “It was a remarkable sale with a 100% sale rate of clocks which is unheard of!” Thomas Keighery of RJ Keighery Antiques tells Irish Examiner Home.

“Our oldest buyer was 98 years old who purchased a grandfather clock and our youngest buyer was 14 who purchased a wall clock.”

The top price fetched was €5,200 for a grandfather clock crafted by Thomas Cahill, Waterford, in the late 18th century.

The grandfather clock crafted by Thomas Cahill, Waterford.

The latter sought-after Georgian piece, dating around 1770, was sold by Rody Keighery by lunchtime on auction day, surpassing the opening bids of €2000-€3000. The clock, which was bought by a woman who wished to remain anonymous, will remain in Ireland, he adds.

Other tempting timepieces included an 18-carat gold-cased ladies’ pocket watch from Switzerland. Dating from 1882 it came with its original receipt from Patek Philippe.

Bids for this lot began at €2,000 and the watch sold for €6,000 — again this piece will remain in Ireland. Rody adds: “Whilst we had bidders from across the world, it was great to see the majority of clocks staying in Ireland.

“We had nearly 200 bidders in the room which was a throwback to the good old days of packed auction rooms.

“There was strong bidding on the day on the floor and online with lots of happy punters involved in this historic sale.”

Thomas and Rody Keighery beside an original William Maddock, one of over 70 grandfather clocks included in the auction.

Another piece to make well beyond its asking price was a Georgian-Irish Chippendale-style clock, again dating from circa 1770, by Francis Sperrils, Dublin. “It smashed its estimate and made €3,300,” says Thomas Keighery.

“There was keen interest in the Vienna wall clocks and they all made multiples of their estimates.”

Also attracting bidders’ attention was a matching pair of a French-inlaid walnut clock and barometer and a wall clock from a Cork-based maker, James Mangan. “Lot 240, an antique brass-mounted triple fusée bracket clock, which would have once been in a large period house in Ireland, also attracted interest with bids starting at €1000,” adds Thomas.

Interior of Waterford's Museum of Time. Picture: Patrick Browne

The auction, which was online and in-person, attracted “great interest” from what he describes as “a new cohort of bidders from the world”: “We had bidders registered from the UK, France, and the USA all across Europe.”

The Irish Museum of Time was opened in Waterford in June 2021 following the combination of two private collections of clocks from collectors David Boles and Colman Curran. It is Ireland’s only horological museum and features some of the oldest Irish longcase table clocks and watches in the world.

A new wing opens there during the 2025 International Festival of Time, taking place in Waterford from May 23 to 25 (see Waterfordtreasures).