On the Upper East Side, a 93-year-old Danish immigrant still applies the same trade he took from the Old Country and has practiced here for over six decades. Knud Christensen set up Sutton Clock Shop in its current location in 1965, later bringing in his youngest son, Sebastian Laws, into the trade as an apprentice. Since they’re perched over a jewelry shop, most of their business isn’t sales, but on-site repairs, though they offer historic models dating back to the 1800s, including wall regulators (with pendulum) and crystal regulators (encased desktop models) for hundreds of dollars. Sebastian estimates that he makes about five house calls a week, for jobs which range from grandfather clocks to bank wall clocks to clock towers (which can be one month’s work). Cuckoo clocks aren’t part of their repertoire (they’re poorly made and have to be broken up and re-glued), but they’ll take care of your barometer, even getting new glass for you from their hand-blown tube specialist.
More:Sutton Clock Shop