Jantar Clocks--Advice Needed

I'm interested inacquiring a Jantar clock to accompany my Soviet chess pieces. Any advice anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

My freind had the plastic version. We played a 30 minute game a couple of times with the clock way back when. The Ticking was not distracting if I remember correctly. Buttons were easy to push like on the BHB clock. I also read somewhere that they were high quality made clocks. If anyone has one it might be Frank Helwig as he has a bunch of different clocks I think. Good Luck Chuck.!

Thanks, Kick.

cgrau, try this link:

http://www.iamcoach.com/chess/products/Clocks.htm

The clock pictured looks the same as the picture you have above.

The printing on the clock face is different.

What do you think?

Thanks, Eye. Looks like a Jantar to me. I suppose what I'm most worried about is getting taken to the cleaners for a clock that doesn't really work and then having limited recourse. I'm wondering what others' experiences are, perhaps there are vendors they can recommend, as you have.

sorry, I don't. Mike owns one (or used to), so he may want to chime in.

FWIW, I'm not a big fan of the Jantar clocks. They are blatant ripoffs of the old HAC clocks.

I've bought a lot of chess clocks online, and w/ a couple of exceptions my experience has been good. Just ask the seller to confirm explicitly that both clocks run for a few hours and that the flag isn't stuck and that the swithcing mechanism functions properly.

Also, if you can still find an actual clock repair shop that still deals w/ mechanical clocks, you can always have the clockworks cleaned, which should ensure proper performance for a few years.

There are tons of these on Ebay.  You can afford to be choosy as to which ones to bid on.  Meaning, if the item description gives you doubts as to whether it's really working or not, forget that one and try a different one that gives you a better feel. I'd think that if the appearance of the clock is in decent shape, then the innards should be too, because it's less likely to have been mistreated.  I bought one a few years ago, and it is just fine.  Judging by the innards of it, these clocks are beasts that will put up with all kinds of abuse and not bat an eye. 

There are several different shades of wood, and two different clockface designs that will usually come up.  I think there are later plastic models too, but I'm a bit unsure of this.  Enough to pick and choose what you like most.

Thanks, Frank!

Thanks, Althus!

Thanks Robert!

Frank, since this post, I've acquired both a Jantar and a MOM clock. I've located a fellow locally who cleans them. He charges $50/clock mechanism. Since each clock has two, that's $100/clock. That's more than I paid for either of them.

He did disassemble both of them in my presence to determine whether he could do anything for me. It was fascinating. He put some lube on the lever mechanism in the MOM--you have to remove the clock's base to get at it because it's at the bottom of the clock. The lever had noticeable corrosion, and the lube freed the movement significantly simply by pressing each side's lever a few times. He told me a great story I'll post elsewhere.

Althus - do you know any more about the different clock faces, why they are made different, etc?

Are there any differences between Jantar models? What about between wood and bakelite?

The clock mechanisms of my bakelite and wood Jantars are the same, as are the clock faces. The bakelite clock is not as tall.

Thanks Chuck. I was wondering because the range of prices between the Jantar clocks are very wide. 

different manufacturers: 2nd Moscow Watch Factory and 3rd Moscow Watch Factory